Preparing for Winter V

jamanda

I've surrendered and put the winter quilt on the bed.  I've also fished out my thick coat.  I have to take a dog out at 4.30 a.m.(poorly tum) and it is flippin cold then.

MingVase

Am I the only one who is glad it's getting colder? I just can't be doing with the hot weather any more.

Greenglockenspiel

I haven’t heard the term applied to adults before but I believe ‘failure to thrive’ as a descriptor for children who aren’t growing as expected has been around for quite some time.

I’m happy about the weather getting cooler, less so about it getting wetter!

Laura_Elsewhere

"Failure to thrive' hasn't been used for decades medically and I am horrified if anyone medical *is* using it officially. 

It is what was put on Death Certificates in the 20th century for a wide range of preventable causes of deaths, many of which no longer happen, some which do happen but are better understood and so are named, such as SIDS ('cot death') and various malformation syndromes. A lot of the time 'Failure to Thrive' came down to malnourished parents living in inadequate housing, so the child was born underweight and inadequately nourished and then slowly lost what weight it had as the poor parents struggled in hard times and bad conditions. 

It became regarded widely as an indicator of shame, not shame for the parents but shame for the government, for the councils, for the NHS once it was created, and by iirc the late 1960s it had all but disappeared. 

If it is being used officially, please let me have links so I can pass them on to people who can chase this up and try to get it stopped. 

Laura_Elsewhere

@MingVase, nope, I'm glad too!  

littlemoney

VJsmum said:

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/sep/30/denim-is-rubbish-for-keeping-you-warm-experts-tips-for-cold-weather-dressing?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2CrwGGX_aaS0MVIzwqjkZAEHTh2r3kHwxHvh-vALOMquja-xYeGPjtlug#Echobox=1601457729

Some might be interested in this article about clothing that keeps you warm.  I am seriously considering the rechargeable warming gilet..

It's well-known amongst walkers that denim jeans are useless at keeping you warm.

littlemoney

3secondmemory said:

Failure to thrive – lovely new  phrase in the Media! The lonely the old and the sick are being labelled in this way as if it’s our fault we can’t get our regular tests and treatment.

On a more positive note, my cheerful overweight clinical nurse – the one who told me to drink more water when I actually had a urine infection - noted that my weight remains ‘stable’ at 46 kg. From my point of view, my weight remains dangerously low and I don’t have any more to lose. 

Whilst I understand how much pressure the hospitals are going to be under over the winter just with normal coughs and flu, Those of us with ongoing conditions can’t get hold of the doctor for love nor money. Not all of us can access the econsults. 

 It’s taken all day to get through to any of the phlebotomy numbers so I can have a blood test prior to my appointment next week. 

Moan over


I can thoroughly recommend the small dreamland intelliheat  pad - you can unplug it and shove it inside your coat if you’re really cold. Not quite a heated gilet but it works for me 😃

I use a heat pad as a hot water bottle/foot warmer in bed. The trimer switches it off after I have fallen asleep and if I wake up in the night and feel cold, (I can get cold feet) and it's then impossible to get back to sleep till I get them warm again.  With the heat pad I just switch it on to get warm. So much better than getting out of bed in the middle of a cold night to boil a kettle and fill a hot water bottle.

VJsmum

MingVase said:

Am I the only one who is glad it's getting colder? I just can't be doing with the hot weather any more.

I was going to answer "yes" but i knew Laura would disagree with me...   And there she was!

I loathe the cold, absolutely bliddy loathe it.

Laura_Elsewhere

Awww, @VJsmum - if it's any consolation, we'll be swapping back in six months when you exult over the sunny weather and blazing Easter sun, and I whimper feebly...! 

MingVase

I used to hate the cold and love hot sun, now my body seems to have reversed itself lol