No swim and no drugs
I have opted not to have a swim this afternoon, after falling asleep in the sun yesterday and getting myself burnt. And boy is it hot right now. Perhaps I will have one later when the risk of more sunburn has disappeared. I generally allow myself an hour in the sun each day – just enough time to enjoy the outdoors without doing any damage in the process. I am not one for sunscreens. I have used them on and off over the years but not regularly and certainly not for a whole season. Something within tells me that another chemical is not good for the body. I know we have been warned repeatedly about the damage the sun can do to our skins, but I do inherently believe that the damage the chemicals do will one day be discovered to be far worse. My approach is to allow just enough time in the sun to brown but not to burn. I am lucky that I have an olive skin and it can tolerate more than a lighter skin could, though in saying that, I have had my fair share of sunburns over the years. My teenage years were the worst when my friends and I would spend the day roasting in the sun, burning and peeling regularly. I know that kind of damage could very well surface in the years to come. I can’t turn back the clock, however, and have to be slightly more careful about the length of time outdoors these days. Another bad time in my life was when I was on the farm and shepherding for a few months. Each day I was out in that hot sun and on the horse. My nose was constantly burnt. Since that time, I have used zinc cream if I have known I will be out in the sun for any length of time. At one time in my life, I couldn’t bear being indoors if it was a bright sunny day. That attitude is slightly different now though, and almost totally reversed.
I don’t know why I am so against taking pills or medications, particularly as I was a nurse and that was one of the things we did, dispensing drugs to our patients. While cleaning up a cupboard earlier in the week I came across a blood pressure cuff I had bought second hand at a market. I am not sure if it is accurate but I am hoping like hell it isn’t as it recorded my blood pressure as being dangerously high. I have always had a low blood pressure and pulse, excepting for times when I have been unwell. I definitely don’t want to start taking medication for that. I guess I know that people often experience a lot of side effects from their medication and being on anything long term can create its own set of problems. The longer I can stay drug-free the better, as far as I am concerned. But I will have to get that blood pressure checked by someone else, with hopefully, a more accurate monitor.
I was reading yesterday an article about the wonder of weight loss drugs and the increase in their use. That is another thing I don’t want to try as it did warn that coming off the drugs could result in any lost weight returning. And again, I don’t want to introduce long-term drugs to my system.
Stephen and I visited a friend at the rest home this morning and he was commenting about the number of drugs he was on. At 93, he is doing well, but one wonders how many side effects that amount of drugs is creating for him. He did look healthy for his age though.
Another question. Do we want to be kept alive if our quality of living is sub-standard? I don’t think I do.