Why do we catch cough and colds?

I wondered why I caught cough so quickly when I felt so healthy yesterday.  I remembered going out of the house for a moment as the rain starts pouring.  But I remembered to have read in an article that even if we soak ourselves in the rain, we do not catch cough and colds unless somebody around us have it.  I "Googled" the answer  and here's what I got.


When we’re down, depressed or stressed, our immune system lowers.  If your immune system is low, the possibility of the cold virus getting a foothold in your body increases.  The sneezing, aching and coughing are signs that your immune system is fighting the virus. This means that the cough is not the disease but the symptom.  It is in fact important to clear away our lungs with mucus that blocked the upper airway passages.  


Now I learned that I should be glad if a cough produces mucus as it is called a productive cough.  It only mean that the cough helps us clear our lungs.  The dry or unproductive cough on the other end may be a sign of mild asthma and its symptoms may include shortness of breathing, feeling of tightness in the chest and wheezing.


SO NOW,  I KNOW!

The Iron Will

Last night, my little girls were so excited when they were told to clean our gate so we can paint it anew.  They expressed their hesitation because they knew they are not "early birds".  My little girls usually have a hard time waking up early.  But because I told them to do the cleaning early while the sun is not that hot, they became worried.  Amazingly, today, they woke up earlier than me and their brother.  They get their rugs and go on with their duty for the day.  While I am still blogging, they reported that they are done.  So amazing, even with kids, we can see what an iron will can do!

Good or Bad, Who Knows?

Together with my team, I went to one of our plantations this morning to conduct another IMS refresher course to the banana operations' crew.  When I was done discussing about the topic on OHSAS which is Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk Control or we call it HIRARC for short, I asked the participants if they have any questions or need clarifications.  One of them raised his hand and asked me if what they have experienced 3 days ago during their annual physical examination, was good or bad.  Puzzled, I inquired what happened.  They told me, they were scolded by the physician for being obese.

Well, looking at them, they are not really that fat..maybe only a little over their BMI is what the doctor mean.  Some may have bulging tummies but not excessively big because their work requires physical endurance and stamina to roam around the area for almost eight hours, climb a ladder for fruit care and most of all, they sweat so much because they are working under the heat of the sun.

The crew told me that they were being warned by the doctor that after two weeks he will come back for re-evaluation of their weight.  If they failed to lose weight on the day that he comes back, the crews were told that he (the doctor) will fire them.  They were even challenge to go to the Department of Labor.  The crew were very angry but they said, they just control their temper not to hurt the doctor as they don't want to lose their job just because of the doctors impolite, rude remarks.

I let them express themselves. I listened and show that I empathized..but it doesn't mean 'though that I fully agreed to what they feel.  I also thought of the doctor's motive.  Perhaps, he only wanted to emphasize that many of them are obese and that they really have to do something for their health.  Maybe, the message was not just correctly delivered that instead of challenging the crew to lose weight, their blood pressures went up because of the way the doctor told them about their situation.  Besides, he does not have the right to fire the crew-he is not the employer in the first place.  Who can fire the crew who performed exceptionally best in production last year? Laughing it out, I just told them not to get affected so much about what the doctor said..aside from he is not a lawyer, he is not our employer who have the right to hire or fire us anyway. That doctor may be a bully..or...may have other motive...like selling his book about obesity, perhaps?

Then they're asking me if it's good or bad? I may have disappointed them by not fully supporting their arguments. For me, the doctor's motive in doing so may be good for the crew...but how it was communicated and perceived made it bad.  Whether it is good or bad, I could not tell... everyone has a reason for his action or inaction and all the rest are..."maybe".

Busy with Nothing

I thought I've been very busy lately.  Time flies so fast that I did not even notice that I missed to do some things and forget to visit some places..including my blog.  Looking back, I could not even see the outcome of what I've done that keeps me from doing the things that I have to do.  It may not be due to busyness, perhaps, but the loss of focus.  Luckily now, I was able to ponder what I failed to do and tried to keep back on track.  Am alive, Hello World!! *wink wink*  

The Holidays

Two days more to go and it's Christmas.  Though many Filipinos are very excited to celebrate the occasion, many working Filipinos are worried to celebrate it like they did last year.  People begin celebrating on Christmas eve.  This is the time that when 12 o'clock strikes, everyone's making noise and greeting and shouting merry Christmas altogether.  However this year, Christmas day falls on a Sunday. That is, the next day will be a regular working day.  A very short holiday vacation..seemed just like a weekend- only that we will be so tired and sleepy after the celebration.  I cannot imagine working on Monday.  My mornings are already a challenge.  I always find it hard to get up and go to work.  What more with this so busy weekend?    

Occupational Health & Safety Assessment Series (BS OHSAS 18001)

One management system that we implemented in our company is BS OHSAS.  Even if the company has been preparing for its certification since 2007, I found out that until our recommendation for certification, not everyone, including our safety officers were not quite sure of what OHSAS literally stands for.  OHSAS stands for Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series for health and safety management systems.  It is intended to help organizations to control occupational health and safety risks. OHSAS is a British Standard and is not recognized as a standard by ISO.  It is, however, internationally recognized by many international organizations.

X'mas Party and Value for Money

We will have our Christmas party in the office today.  This is our time to exchange gifts and everyone voluntarily (forcibly? :)) contributed certain amounts for our food.  Our group, the Marketing and ISO, planned to buy 7 litsong manok (chicken barbeque). But because the MIS group would buy litsong baboy (roasted pig), we deducted the number of litsong manok from 7 to 4 and buy rice and some finger food instead.  A small celebration as it is, but we carefully planned and budget our meager resource so we can get the best value for our money.  The P&A will contribute puto (rice cake) and dinuguan, pork barbeque for accounting department and beverage for Legal department.  I hope there are seafoods and fruits prepared...  but, whatever will be laid out in the table, it doesn't matter so much as long as we will enjoy the moment and exude the spirit of Christmas.