Today I learned my first lesson of blogging etiquette.
I was overly excited about finding something online and unintentionally "flooded" that site with my comments, all with links to my blog. Only after I wrote several that I realized what an awful way it was to promote my blog. I quickly looked for delete buttons to cancel my comments but it was not available and I couldn't undo what I've done. If I could turn back time, I would, but it's too late. I then apologized to the owner and I'm thankful that she was gracious and forgiving (If you are reading, thank you for your grace). What a lesson in humility for me.
I'd skimmed through some articles online about blogging etiquette before I started blogging, but I didn't realize the importance of it until today. One thing that saddens me the most is the fact that my manner did not reflect my faith as a Christian. Although what I wrote was purely informational, the way I did it could come across as offensive. The reality is that in everything we do, whether it's intentional or not, the way we do it and the image it portrays reflects our faith. And as hard as it is to write about this post and admitting my mistake publicly, I'm glad it happens early enough in my blogging journey, so I can avoid the same mistake and improve for the better in the future. Sure, blogging is not always daisies and sunshine, maybe this is one way God uses to refine me. I thank Him for allowing me to write for His glory, even though I have to do it imperfectly.
This is a summary of blogging etiquette that I learned today through this experience and reading. It serves as a reminder for a beginner blogger like me and hope it's useful for others too.
Blogging Etiquette: Do's and Don'ts
1. Comments. Write comments that are appropriate to the post. Be nice. If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all. Constructive feedback is fine, but attacking individuals is not.
2. Photos/Images. Essentially all photos are owned by the original photographers. You are violating the copyrights of the owners unless you get permission to use the photos from them. When I started blogging, I used some photos from Google Images, until I came across this article that it doesn't matter whether you link back to the original source or put a disclaimer on your blog, you can get sued for using other people's photos, even though the chance is slim. So currently I only use my own (or my husband's) photos, with the exception for a few, where I get permission from the owners (whom I know).
3. Copyright Laws. Give credit where credit is due. If you use snippets from other sites, put a source linking to the original article. No one wants to be accused of plagiarizing other people's work. Bloggers are bound by copyright laws when they publish something on the internet. When you cite your sources, it not only help you stay out of legal trouble, it helps your search engine results.
4. Self-Promotion. The internet is a great way to promote your site, but generally people do not like self-promoters. Promoting your site through commenting on other people's sites is fine to a certain extend, where appropriate/relevant, but you don't want to over-do it (whether intentionally or not), or your reputation may be damaged. A lesson I learned today. Instead, focus on growing your blog by writing original, rich contents and overtime it will grow organically as more readers find useful and relevant information as they search online.
5. Reply to Comments. That said, take the time to reply to comments that your readers wrote on your blog, no matter how big your blog is. It's because of all those people that your blog grows and it shows that you appreciate them.
6. Honesty. As your blog grows, advertisers may ask you to review their products in exchange of free samples. Don't feel obligated to write good reviews just because you received free samples, instead give honest feedback and if so happens that they are not all rosy, contact the advertiser privately about your reviews (maybe because of this they can improve their products/services) before you post it. So it is a win-win. Additionally, having a contact page where people can connect with you is a great way to show your readers that you are approachable and trustworthy. A site that doesn't provide any info on the owner may come across as suspicious and insecure.
Do you have any blogging advice you can share?
Chances are most children (and adults) have experienced common cold in our lives. "It is the most frequent infectious disease in humans with the average adult contracting two to three colds a year and the average child contracting between six and twelve." (source)
My family used to take Panadol, Nyquil, or Advil the moment we felt cold coming. I never felt the need to research what those over-the-counter medicines are made of or whether they are safe or not, because they worked like magic. My first baby, Elin, caught her first cold when she was three months old. At the time she was exclusively breastfed and we rarely went out of the house so I didn't know why or how she caught the cold (and fever). That was when she took her first antibiotic. I wasn't peaceful about it but I didn't know what else I could do. Afterwards, I started my research on natural remedies that I can prepare at home to fight cold.
How Can We Treat Cold Naturally?
We try to boost our immune system by consuming healthy food, but when cold does strike, here are some natural ways to treat cold symptoms:
- Essential Oils. Use eucalyptus
/peppermint
essential oils to relieve congestion.
- Put a few drops of eucalyptus or peppermint essential oil in a bowl of hot water, cover your head with a towel, and breathe in the steam. (If you are pregnant, please check the safety of the oil you are using).
- Rub either essential oil with a carrier oil (olive oil or sweet almond oil) under the nose, on the neck, chest, back, and feet before we sleep.
- If you have an air purifier that uses water (not filter paper), you can add a few drops of essential oils in it and let the machine run.
- Use the oil to make homemade vapor rub (no more Vicks).
- Onions. I've read that placing a cut-up onion in a bowl near where you sleep will help relieve congestion. I haven't tried this yet, but there is no harm in trying if you're running out of options.
- Drink ginger tea. It is soothing, speeds up circulation and helps to decongest. I grate a lot of ginger, let it sip in hot water, and add a little bit of manuka honey
to sweeten.
- Make lemon, garlic, ginger, and honey tea.
- Make this cough and cold syrup at home. I tried it before and didn't like the onion taste in the syrup, but I drank it anyway.
- Vitamins. Consume immune-boosting foods that are high in vitamin C, zinc, and D (such as cod liver oil).
- Coconut Oil. Flu is caused by a virus that has lipid coating. Coconut oil makes pathogenic virus disintegrate and encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria. Adequate vitamin A is critical for fighting infection, so the combination of coconut oil and cod liver oil is ideal for preventing bacterial infections.
- Sun Exposure. The sun is the best source of vitamin D that is especially important for our immunity.
For the little ones:
- Snotsucker. I use Nosefrida snotsucker
to help my baby decongest since she can't blow her nose yet.
- Homeopathic Remedy. I buy Hyland's Kids' Kit
for my baby or this one for older children.
What natural methods have you successfully tried at home to relieve cold and congestion?
Disclaimer: Although I am passionate about healthy and natural living, I am not a certified or a licensed medical practitioner who can counsel anyone in medical issues and cannot be held responsible for any decision you make regarding your health. What I am sharing are what I have learned and applied to my family but may not necessarily work for yours. My only hope is that this blog may encourage you to learn more about healthy and natural living which will hopefully help you as you make decisions for your own family.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
When cough, sore throat, cold/flu kicks in, I try to treat it naturally and avoid over-the-counter medicines. We boost our immune system mainly through eating healthy, but the occasional cough, sore throat, and cold/flu is inevitable and the first thing I make to ease the symptoms is by drinking ginger tea, which is water sweetened with honey or palm sugar (a natural sweetener) with tons of fresh grated ginger. When I feel a more persistent one coming, I add lemon and garlic to it for their amazing healing properties:
Ginger warms the body, speeds up circulation, and helps to decongest.
Lemon balances the body's pH, thins mucus, and make the body less hospitable to viruses and bacteria.
Garlic in itself is a powerful herb to fight infections. It is an effective decongestants and contains antioxidant flavanoids and has anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties.
Raw honey is antiviral and antibacterial, which helps the immune system fight infection.
So this is how you can make your own lemon, garlic, ginger, and honey tea at home.
Ingredients
5-8 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
1/4 - 1 tsp of grated fresh ginger (start little if you are not used to taking raw ginger)
2 cups of water
1 lemon
Raw honey
Directions
Boil 2 cups of water. Put in garlic and ginger and let it sit in boiled water for 10-15 minutes. Add the juice from one lemon. Add honey to taste.
Drink it throughout the day. Best when served warm. You can put it in a thermos to keep warm.
Other Resources
Try making homemade vapor rub for external application to warm the body and relieve congestion naturally.
Disclaimer: Although I am passionate about healthy and natural living, I am not a certified or a licensed medical practitioner who can counsel anyone in medical issues and cannot be held responsible for any decision you make regarding your health. What I am sharing are what I have learned and applied to my family but may not necessarily work for yours. My only hope is that this blog may encourage you to learn more about healthy and natural living which will hopefully help you as you make decisions for your own family.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I was sitting down and having lunch with my parents about a week ago and suddenly I was nauseous and felt like vomiting. Then I started hearing ringings in my ears, I became light headed and it got worse by the second, voices became distant, and the next thing I knew I had passed out for a few minutes, only to regain consciousness to my Dad's worried voice: "Vicky, can you hear me?" and I was perspiring heavily after that.
What had just happened?
I think a number of things were going on. I was having stomachache in the morning and I just got my period that day. So on top of the diarrhea, my stomach also hurt from the cramps. I didn't know if that had anything to do with my loss of appetite that afternoon or why I felt like vomiting. But I do know I have a low blood pressure and this in fact wasn't my first time fainting. It was actually my fourth time throughout my adulthood. It happened once every few years it seems.
I asked my parents what happened. I only remembered feeling so light headed and I didn't remember the rest until I regained consciousness. I was in a sitting down position. They told me my face turned so pale and I couldn't lift my head, so my dad supported my neck, not knowing what to do. Thankfully there was a doctor who was eating by our table and he quickly came over and told my Dad to put me down flat. Lying down flat allowed oxygen to flow back to the brain, which made me regain consciousness. If it wasn't for the doctor, my parents otherwise wouldn't know that they had to do that, and a seizure may happen due to the lack of oxygen in the brain. Later on I went to the doctor and he explained I suffered from a condition called Vasovagal Reflex.
What is a Vasovagal Reflex? What Causes It? What are the Symptoms? Is it Dangerous?
Vasovagal reflex is a condition to a body's sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate, often causing a person to faint as there is not enough oxygen in the brain.
"Episodes of vasovagal response are typically recurrent, and usually occur when the predisposed person is exposed to a specific trigger. Prior to losing consciousness, the individual frequently experiences early signs of symptoms such as lightheaded, nausea, the feeling of being extremely hot or cold (accompanied by sweating), ringing in the ears (tinnitus), an uncomfortable feeling in the heart, fuzzy thoughts, confusion, a slight inability to speak/form words (sometimes combined with mild stuttering), weakness and visual disturbances such as lights seeming too bright, fuzzy or tunnel vision, black cloud-like spots in vision, and a feeling of nervousness can occur as well. The symptoms last for a few seconds before the loss of consciousness (if it is lost), which typically happens when the person is sitting up or standing. When sufferers pass out, they fall down (unless this is impeded) and, when in this position, effective blood flow to the brain is immediately restored, allowing the person to regain consciousness; if the person does not fall into a fully flat, supine position, and the head remains elevated above the trunk, a seizure may result from blood's inability to return quickly to the brain. Fainting occurs with the loss of oxygen to the brain." (source)
Many things can trigger a vasovagal reflex including dehydration, hunger, standing for too long, menstrual cramps, stress, heat exposure, and low blood sugar. The danger about this condition is that it can happen so suddenly and without warning. Symptoms may be just a few seconds before one loses consciousness, which was what happened to me. Although the condition itself is not considered life threatening, the risk of injury from falling while the person is unconscious is what can be dangerous. I was telling myself, what if that happened when I was alone, or with only my baby? Truly God was watching over me the past four times it happened. Each was a unique circumstance and there has always been someone else with me.
What to do if you experience a Vasovagal Reflex?
Immediately lie down, fully flat. It gets your blood back up again.
What did I learn from this incident?
To know that I may experience vasovagal reflex in the future again is a concern. So if you have this condition, it is good to take a few precautions so that other people around you know what to do.
- Tell your close family and friends about your condition so they know how to react when it happens again.
- Provide them with emergency contacts, including phone numbers of your family, ambulance, hospital, doctor, etc.
- Don't starve. Don't skip meals or get too hungry. Keep a few nutritious snacks with you if you know you will be waiting somewhere where there is no access to food. One of the triggers of a vasovagal reflex is low blood sugar, so it's important for someone with this condition to keep their blood sugar up.
What can I do to improve my (low) blood pressure?
- Exercise. Regular exercise promotes blood flow.
- Eat a diet higher in salt.
- Drink more water, especially during hot seasons.
- Avoid prolonged exposure to hot temperatures/water such as in spas.
- Be careful not to rise too quickly from lying or sitting down position.
When this happened, I can't not think of "what if's" and it was a convicting reminder that when it's all said and done, the most important thing in life is not how much wealth we have accumulated or how popular we are or whose ways are right or wrong, but whether we have lived this life purposefully, leaving a legacy worth passing on, and loving others as God has instructed us to do.
Have you experienced vasovagal reflex before?
When I read this post a year ago, my heart was deeply touched. I shared this article to my mommy-friends on Elin's first birthday party and it has become the foundation on how I want to raise my child(ren).
1st Corinthians 13 for Moms
If my child speaks in the tongues of men or of angels, masters sign language at six months and Spanish and Mandarin Chinese by six years, but does not learn to love, she is only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If he has the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge-ABCs at a year, reading by two, writing chapter books in Kindergarten-but does not have love, he is nothing. If I volunteer for every mommy ministry-MOPS, AWANA, Sunday School, and if I give all I possess to the poor (or at least bring loads of groceries to the foodbank), but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love never fails-even where I have fallen painfully short of God’s best for my children. But where there are competitions to see whose body bounces back best after childbirth, they will cease; where there are verbal fights over the correct methods of discipline, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge about the best way to feed and clothe and nurture a child, it will pass away. For we know in part and we parent incompletely, but when they are fully grown, what we thought we knew about raising our children will disappear.
When I was a new parent, I thought, spoke and reasoned with immaturity and without grace. As my children grew, I asked God to give me the wisdom to put these childish ways behind me. For now we see our children’s future as only a reflection as in a mirror; one day we will behold their adults selves face to face. Now I know in part; then we shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
What did I learn from this?
With my limited knowledge and experience, I can only see small parts of life and cannot see the big picture, as God sees it. I may think that I know everything about being a good person, wife, and parent, but really I don't know many things completely. There are many (too many) things we can do in life, but if we don't focus on the simple truth that love is the foundation of life, that faith will keep us strong, and hope will keep us going, it will only be a matter of time until we run out of perseverance to live this life and finish this race well. If anything else fails, I hope I can teach my children how to love.
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." - Romans 12:12
and pepper
