Ants are just one of the many pests that can launch an attack on your home.

The tiny insects are particularly attracted to the scent of sugar or grease. The scent of other foods may also attract ants which is why it is imperative to promptly clean spills.

Without proper management, ants can overrun your home.

Here are five ways to rid your home of ants.

Cucumber peels

Cucumber peels can serve as an excellent ant repellent.

Put them around areas affected by ants and you will notice that they will disappear in no time.

Salt

Ordinary salt is the safest remedy to keep ants away.

Use the mineral as a barricade to prevent the ants from crossing the designated area.

Duct tape

This can be useful to save your plants or keep ants from climbing your table or bed legs.

Wrap the tape around the base of plant or table leg with the sticky side outwardly. It will gum all the ants, and they will either die or be unable to move and fall prey to other insects.

Boiling water

If you can manage to find the source of the ants in or around your compound, you can pour a kettle of boiling water directly onto the ant hills to protect your home.

Vinegar

Vinegar diluted in water used to clean surfaces helps in eradicating ants due to its fungicidal and insecticidal properties.

A miscarriage can be a traumatic experience one that can be difficult to overcome.

The pain that comes with pregnancy loss is indescribable. So, here are six steps that most people find helpful on how to recover/cope after a miscarriage. 

1.     Process Your Emotions

Take time to process your emotions and learn about your grieving process.

A miscarriage is a major emotional loss and so, it is normal to mourn this loss the same way you would mourn any other loss.

Try to familiarise yourself with your grieving process so that you will understand that what you are feeling is normal.

Usually, the first stage of the emotional grief is denial. You might find yourself thinking, “This isn’t really happening; it’s a bad dream that’d go away soon.”

The second stage is feeling anger, guilt, or depression and it features common thoughts like, “This isn’t fair!” or “I did everything right, why me?”

The last stage is acceptance. You will definitely still feel sadness, but you will begin to accept the reality of the situation.

2.     Be patient with yourself

Keep in mind that this emotional experience is different for everyone.

Everyone will glide through the different stages at their own pace. You might coast quickly through the denial stage, but then find yourself stuck in anger.

Do not beat yourself up. Rather, make efforts to be kind to yourself.

Take a moment each day to acknowledge your emotions; just don’t judge them and give yourself the time you need to heal and process your emotions.

Most importantly, know that your experience is your own.

You may have friends or family members who have gone through a miscarriage of their own and naturally, they will want to give you advice on how to handle it.

It’s fine if you want to listen, but it’s okay to feel like your situation is different.

It’s fine to tell them, “Thank you for your concern and advice, but I really need to handle this in my own way.” Most people would understand and be respectful of your wishes.

3.     Be okay with setbacks

Healing is a process and not necessarily a destination.

As the days go by, you will make progress and feel better- time heals all wounds. However, you are also likely to experience some bumps in the road. Setbacks aren’t palatable, but you can get through them.

Maybe you experience a setback when a friend tells you that she is pregnant. After such loss, this is going to be hard for you to hear.

Remind yourself that you can still be happy for your friend while feeling sad about your own loss.

If you feel yourself sliding back into sadness for a few days, that’s perfectly fine. Be patient with yourself and know that you’ll move forward again when you’re ready to.

4.     Make your own choices

You are likely to find that well-meaning friends and relatives will come offering a lot of (unsolicited) advice during this time.

First, remind yourself that they mean well. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to listen to everything they say.

For instance, your mum may suggest that it is time to give 0ut all of the baby clothes that you bought.

Eventually, this might be something that you want to consider but if you’re not ready now, don’t do it.

It is your right to say, “Thank you for your thoughts, but I’m not ready to take that step right now. Kindly respect my pace.”

5.     Speak to your doctor

Some miscarriages can also be difficult to deal with physically.

It might require you to undergo a surgical evacuation procedure. It is also normal to feel the effects of a hormonal imbalance at this time.

This is why you should talk to your doctor so that you can start the process of healing your body right.

Ask your doctor if there are certain precautions you need to take.

You can ask for advice in handling any bleeding and dealing with mood swings.

Don’t hold back on asking for any support that you need. He/she could also point you to support groups if they happen to know any.

6.     Keep your body healthy

You need plenty of rest to heal physically.

Plus, good physical health is directly related to your emotional health.

Ensure that you are getting the rest that you need to heal. If necessary (and possible), consider taking a brief time off from work. They’d understand.

See to it that you are eating a healthy diet; focus on whole grains, fruits and veggies, and protein.

Do not forget get part of being healthy is communicating with your partner. Your spouse will also be going through a difficult time. They too might be experiencing sadness, anger, or grief.

Take time to be there for, and talk to one another.

Be open and honest about your feelings. If you are feeling depressed, don’t be afraid or shy to admit so.

Your partner at such a time could be your best source of support, so don’t be scared to lean on them.

A recent study has found that a wrong arm position during blood pressure (BP) checks may lead to misdiagnosis and overestimation of hypertension.

BP is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. It is measured in units of millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The reading consists of two numbers — with the upper (systolic) value first, followed by the lower (diastolic) value. A person is considered hypertensive if they have consistent readings of 130/80 or higher.

The new study, published on Monday in Journal JAMA Internal Medicine, analysed the blood pressure readings of 133 adults from August 2022 to June 2023. The study volunteers’ ages ranged from 18 to 80.

The blood pressure readings were measured and compared while the people held their arms in three different ways — leaning on a surface, resting on the lap, or hanging by the side of the body.

The researchers from Johns Hopkins University discovered that when participants had their arms hanging by their sides during the reading, their systolic pressure was 6.5 points higher than when their arms were resting on a desk, while the diastolic blood pressure — the bottom number — was 4.4 points higher than in the supported condition.

The experts also found out that when their arms were on their laps, the systolic blood pressure was 3.9 points higher than when their arms were supported by a surface, while the diastolic pressure was 4 points higher than in the supported condition.

For example, if a person’s actual blood pressure is 134, and blood pressure is measured on a dangling arm, the reading could end up over 140, which is considered to be stage 2 hypertension.

Tammy Brady, the vice-chair for clinical research in the department of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said the two other positions were tested because it was realised that they are the most used positions during blood pressure readings.

“I did not expect there to be that much of a difference when the arms were placed in the two alternative positions,” he said.

“We tested those positions because those are the positions that most people have their blood pressure measured, according to data and personal observations.

“We thought there’d be a difference, but I was surprised by how much of a difference there was.”

According to the study, the wrong positioning of the arm during BP readings leads to overestimation due to several physiological reasons.

First, there can be muscle contraction when the arm is not supported which can lead to an increase in BP reading.

Also, a greater vertical distance between the heart and where the cuff is placed can increase hydrostatic pressure in the arteries, or the blood pressure against the wall due to gravity’s pull. This can lead to an overestimation of blood pressure.

Brandy said the study was conducted to educate people on the appropriate arm position for BP reading.

“I just hope that it raises awareness regarding how important things like arm position are to blood pressure measurement accuracy,” he added.

“I also hope this study educates patients, empowering them to advocate for proper measurement when they’re in a clinic setting.

“But also, because so many patients rely on home blood pressure measurements for hypertension diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment.

“I hope this educates them on how to properly position their arms because our findings absolutely extend to measurements in the home.”

The researchers also gave the following steps to achieve an accurate BP measurement.

The steps include:

• Wear the appropriate cuff size
• Have your back supported
• Keep feet flat on the floor with legs uncrossed
• Have the appropriate arm position – the cuff should be positioned at heart level with the arm supported on a desk or table

Wearing the appropriate cuff size was found to be the most important step.

Because an improperly sized blood pressure cuff can distort blood pressure readings taken by automated blood pressure devices.

Also speaking, Gail Adler, a cardiovascular endocrinologist in the Hypertension Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, disclosed some steps that should taken 30 minutes for BP measurement.

“Before you take your blood pressure, you want no smoking, exercise, caffeine, alcohol, major arguments. Don’t be psychologically stressed,” Adler said.

“Sit in the chair, get in the right position. And for five minutes, you relax, you don’t talk, make sure you don’t have to pee. If you have to pee or urinate, that’s going to raise your blood pressure.”