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2B Daily News ��� Friday, March 1, 2013 FEATURES Blood pressure test changes life forever Muscle relaxant can attest to it. Dear Annie: I was just Will you please encour18 years old when a routine age your readers to get their doctor���s visit exposed offkidneys checked? March is the-chart high blood presNational Kidney Month and sure and landed me in the March 14th is World Kidney emergency room. As a Day. The National Kidney carefree teen in my first Foundation is urging Ameryear of college, I felt icans to learn about risk fachealthy and assumed it couldn���t possibly be any- Annie���s tors and get their kidneys checked with a simple urine thing more than a little and blood test. For more stress. Even the ER doctor took a look at me and said by Kathy Mitchell information on these tests he was sure there couldn���t and Marcy Sugar and staying healthy, and for a schedule of free kidney be anything wrong. Imagine the shock when the blood tests health screenings across the counshowed I had stage-four kidney dis- try, please suggest that your readers ease. I was dangerously close to visit the National Kidney Foundaneeding dialysis or a kidney trans- tion at kidney.org. ��� Leslie Field, plant, but I had no clue that I���d been Bradbury, Calif. Dear Leslie Field: Thank you suffering from a silent killer. Kidney disease often goes unde- for reminding our readers how tected because symptoms may not important it is to get regular checkappear until the kidneys are actual- ups to make sure their systems are ly failing. One in three American running smoothly. More than 26 adults is at risk due to high blood million Americans have kidney dispressure or diabetes, two of the ease, and most don���t know it. Peoleading causes. The good news is ple often don���t consider their kidthat early detection and proper ney health, yet it can make a tremendous difference in the qualitreatment can slow the progress. My battle with kidney disease ty of one���s life. We hope our readhas turned me into a fitness guru ers will check the National Kidney and an advocate for kidney Foundation website for more inforpatients. I now do something active mation. Dear Annie: Now that I���m part every day. By following a careful diet and working closely with my of the over-50 crowd, I���m finding it doctors to manage my high blood increasingly difficult to read the pressure, I have been able to pre- expiration dates on goods, even vent further damage. Maintaining a with my reading glasses on. Partichealthy lifestyle and positive atti- ularly troublesome are the expiratude can affect your medical prog- tion dates that are at the bottom of nosis in the best possible way. I can a white box where the numbers are Mailbox indented and also in white. The manufacturers would do us baby boomers a great favor by marking the expiration dates in an easy-to-read location, preferably in black ink with larger letters and numbers. If we can see them, we will replace them more readily when they expire, which would be a boon for business, as well. ��� Maryanne Dear Maryanne: You���ve made an excellent argument, and we hope it wins over the product manufacturers. We���re on your side. Dear Annie: ������Faithful Wife������ said her husband of 44 years was showing some intense behaviors around an old flame, spending $12,000 on a facelift and accusing his wife of lesbianism. If these behaviors are a continuation or exacerbation of old behaviors, I am right with you on your advice. But if they are changes from a man who used to be reasonably ������normal,������ then I would suspect frontotemporal dementia, of which these sorts of socially disruptive disinhibitions are classic symptoms. ��� MA, LSA Annie���s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie���s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. Lassen Park creates tourism dollars A new National Park Service (NPS) report for 2011 shows that the 351,269 visitors to Lassen Volcanic National Park spent $15,807,000 in communities surrounding the park. This spending supported 178 jobs in the local area. "Lassen Volcanic National Park attracts visitors from across the U.S. and around the world. People visiting the park spend time and money enjoying the services provided by our neighboring communities in this amazing part of the country," said Park Superintendent Darlene M. Koontz. "In partnership with our local com- munities we look forward to increased visitation and greater economic value through promotion of northern California���s national parks. In 2012, we saw visitation increase about 16% to 407,653 at Lassen Volcanic National Park." The information on Lassen Volcanic National Park is part of a peerreviewed spending analysis of national park visitors across the country conducted by Michigan State University for the National Park Service. For 2011, that report shows $13 billion of direct spending by 279 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. That visitor spending had a $30 billion impact on the entire U.S. economy and supported 252,000 jobs nationwide. The National Park Service is proud to have been entrusted with the care of America���s most treasured places and delighted that the visitors we welcome generate significant contributions to the local, state, and national economy. Most visitor spending supports jobs in lodging, food, and beverage service (63 percent) followed by recreation and entertainment (17 percent), other retail (11percent), transportation and fuel (7 percent) and wholesale and manufac- turing (2 percent.) To download the report visit www.nature.nps.gov/soci alscience/products.cfm# MGM and click on Economic Benefits to Local Communities from National Park Visitation, 2011. The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state. To learn more about national parks in California and how the National Park Service works with communities to preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide local recreation opportunities, go to http://www.nps.gov/state /ca/index.htm?program=parks. State controller to speak at fundraiser John Chiang, in his second term as California's independent fiscal watchdog, will be the keynote speaker at the Tehama County Democratic Central Committee's annual fundraiser, "A Salute To American Workers," Saturday, March 23. Chiang has forcefully taken action to weed out waste, fraud and abuse of public funds, and used his authority to hold politicians responsible to create a balanced budget for the first time in 16 years without resorting to accounting tricks or excessive borrowing. In addition, the Vice Chairwoman of the California Democratic Party Alexandra "Alex" Gallardo-Rooker will speak. Rooker was born in Mexico City and graduated from Cypress College. She has held a variety of positions with Communication Workers of America Local #9400 and has been the recipient of the "Si Se Puedo Award for Distinguished Service��� from the Los Angeles Chapter of Labor Coun- cil for Latin American Advancement. The doors at the Red Bluff Community and Senior Center will open at 5:15 p.m. and the event will start at 6 p.m. A tri-tip buffet will be offered with dessert, opportunity drawing and auction as part of the evening. Tickets are $25 each or $30 at the door. For information, call John Elshere at 530-529-1238 or send an e-mail to tehamacountydemocrats@gmail.com. News tip? Call 527-2151 treat tension headache complete relief. DEAR DOCPainkillers can TOR K: I get tenactually turn an sion headaches. occasional probOver-the-counter lem into a chronic pain relievers one. That���s help, but not combecause both OTC pletely. What else and prescription can I try? pain relievers tarDEAR READDr. K get only the sympER: Tension by Anthony L. tom of tension headaches are the most common Komaroff, M.D. headaches (pain); they don���t address type of headache. They cause a dull tight- the underlying cause ness or pressure in a band- (muscle tightness). Rely like pattern across the too much on pain relievforehead or in the back of ers, and you may find that the head. Sometimes the your tension headaches entire head hurts. (I���ve put gradually increase in frean illustration of the typi- quency. To make matters cal tension headache pat- worse, frequent use of tern on my website, pain relievers may make other medications less AskDoctorK.com.) Tension headaches tend effective at relieving your to cause mild or moderate headaches. That���s why targeting pain. They���re generally not intense enough to keep the root cause of tension you from functioning or to headaches ��� muscle tightness ��� is a better awaken you at night. How do you distin- strategy. A fast-acting but guish tension headaches short-lived muscle relaxfrom another common ant such as carisoprodol cause of headache, (Soma, Vanadom) or migraines? Migraines metaxalone (Skelaxin) have several features not can loosen head and neck seen with tension muscles. These drugs headaches; they tend to slow the functioning of begin on just one side of your central nervous systhe head, often around the tem, creating an overall eye, even though they may calming effect. Muscle relaxants don���t later spread to the whole relieve pain any more head. Migraines often are effectively than OTC pain accompanied by nausea relievers, but they address and sometimes vomiting. the mechanism of the tenThey typically cause a sion headache. So comthrobbing or pounding bining a muscle relaxant pain. Migraines often are with a pain reliever can preceded or accompanied give good relief. Muscle relaxants work by changes in vision. You may see black spots or quickly, within 15 to 30 flashing lights, or just minutes. Their effects last have blurry vision for a only three to four hours, but that���s enough, since while. Finally, people with tension headaches rarely migraines are often very continue for more than a sensitive to lights or nois- few hours. If you decide to es, and want to rest in a try a muscle relaxant, be quiet and dark place. aware that it may cause Migraines don���t necessari- drowsiness and fatigue. ly have all of these fea- But if your headaches are tures, but they typically migraine headaches, they are much less likely to have at least one. Tension headaches are respond to muscle relaxcaused by tightness in the ant treatments. muscles of the scalp and Dr. Komaroff is a the back of the neck. For physician and professor many people, an over-theHarvard Medical counter (OTC) painkiller at To send such as ibuprofen is School. go to enough to banish the questions, or headache. But for others, AskDoctorK.com, OTC painkillers and even write: Ask Doctor K, 10 stronger prescription pain Shattuck St., Second relievers don���t provide Floor, Boston, MA 02115. Nonprofit organizational management certificate REDDING ��� Shasta Collegewill be offering a nonprofit organizational management course that introduces the fundamentals of effective growth and development. Participants will gain an understanding of a variety of aspects of management of a nonprofit organization. Those in leadership positions will learn or VICTORY GARDENING SERIES Series of Gardening Classes Saturday���s at 10am & 1pm CLASS ONE - March 2 THE BASICS: Location, Set-up, Soil & Seed Starting CLASS TWO - March 9 PLANTING: Layout, Methods & Spacing CLASS THREE - March 16 GARDEN CARE: Watering, Fertilizing, Composting & Insects Please call or email to reserve your seat. *Note: All classes are free, class size is limited. WYNTOUR GARDENS 365-2256 8026 Airport Road, Redding I-5 North, Exit #673, Rt on Knighton, Rt on Airport Located 1 mile south of the Airport (Next to Kents Mkt) Open Mon-Sat 8-5 & Sunday���s 10-4 wyntourgardens.com Facebook inform@wyntourgardens.com enhance basic skills and acquire tools in order to plan, organize, lead and coordinate activities in their nonprofit legally and effectively to maximize community impact. This course is designed for those in leadership roles in nonprofits or those who desire to work in such roles in the future. Directors may find it helpful to register staff or Board members to attend specific sessions which relate to their roles. Classes start March 6. Fee: $25 each. For additional course or registration information visit www.shastacollege.edu/ewd, click on ���Community Education Classes��� or call the EWD office at (530) 242-7630 or email EWD@shastacollege.ed u. INCOME TAX PREPARATION Fast, Friendly, Reasonable Fees Fee for Short or Long form includes all the tax credits and E-filing with direct Deposit. Also Bookkeeping, Payroll and Financial Services available P RALPH CAMPBELL, EA Enrolled Agent 855 Walnut St. #2 530-529-9540