Neosporin with pain relief

Neosporin, that standby magical ointment that, with a mother’s kiss, heals all wounds, has just gotten better. 

Sometime between my childhood and my children’s, they came out with two incredible improvements: first, it comes in a cream version (sticky no more!), and second, they have added a topical analgesic.  The new Neosporin cream + pain relief is an amazing product.  I have used it for cuts, insect bites, and healing from severe radiation burns that developed during my cancer treatment.  It helped when no other product would, and I am so thankful that my oncologist recommended this for short-term relief.

Other products that I used and would recommend for radiation burns, by the way, include Exclair, a prescription cream; Eucerin and Aquaphor, over the counter, inexpensive creams, although I didn’t have much success with them after the initial burns began; a prescription steroid cream when the pain was too much to stand; and a pharmacist’s mix of Aquaphor and aloe, which made a creamy paste that worked well as a poultice.

But for those days when the radiation burns caused surface pain but I had to leave the house dressed and ready anyway, I totally relied on Neosporin plus pain relief.  It took away the pain, soothed the burns, moisturized the new skin underneath, and, unlike the other products, didn’t stain my clothes.

Awesome.

This review was completely unsolicited; I just really liked the product.

Please note: this product is not for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or children under two.  Talk to a doctor or read the patient labeling before use.

 

CleanWell foaming soaps

There’s been a lot of sickness in my house recently. 

First, there was 6 months of cancer, treated by chemotherapy that kills bone marrow, white blood cells, and ultimately immune systems.  We had to isolate ourselves and the kids from the rest of the world to a large extent, turning down playdates with kids who had colds, staying away from the public library, the Ikea playspace, and other indoor playgrounds.  Every dinner out turned into a massive cleaning expedition first, as we surreptitiously wiped down the table, the high chair, the condiments, the silverware, and our hands with antibacterial wipes. 

Then, there was the horrible gastrointestinal bug that we fought last week, where almost everyone ended up throwing up or spending large amounts of time, um, indisposed.

Before that, there was a newborn in the house who needed special care and copious amounts of handwashing by everyone else.

Needless to say, we go through an awful lot of antibacterial soap.  Now, I know that antibacterial soap is not strictly necessary for most families, particularly with prolonged handwashing, but I just can’t guarantee that my 3 year old and everyone else in the household spends 5 minutes at the sink each time.  Heck, I can’t guarantee that I spend 5 minutes in the shower, some days are so rushed!  So we use antibacterial soap and it seems to help.

A couple weeks ago, Parent Bloggers sent us a big box of CleanWell all-natural antibacterial hand wash and several bottles of hand sanitizer.  When we opened the box, it was like Christmas all over again.  Three bottles of foaming hand wash in delicious colors and scents – orange vanilla, green ginger bergamot, and lavender absolute — were accompained by travel bottles of hand sanitizer and a big one for the kitchen counter.  My three-year-old was so tickled by the bottles he immediately said, “I want to wash mine hands!”  When I asked him which bottle should go in which bathroom, he said “Leave the orange one down here.  I really like it!”  And he proceeded to wash his hands without prompting.  Oooh, I was impressed.

The box arrived just in time for flu season in our house.  While the boys were down for the count, I used the foaming hand wash over and over again — and I didn’t get sick!  That’s right.  Because of frequent handwashing with good antibacterial soap (and isolating the sick ones in a single comfy room), I — the woman with cancer — was the only healthy one in the house.  Pretty impressive, huh?

The foaming hand soap is a neat trick.  It makes little ones laugh, pumps out just the right amount, and helps everyone remember to lather the soap up on our hands FIRST and then rinse it off under the water. 

And if a soap can do that, I’m impressed.

HP Photosmart Compact Printer

This. is. the. coolest. new. toy.

When Parent Bloggers Network sent me the HP Photosmart A626 Compact Printer, I thought there had been some mistake.  This blog reviews books, toddler toys, and PBS kids’ shows.  That kind of thing.  Small things.  But a photo printer?  And photo books to go with it?  Awesome.

I didn’t have very high expectations, I have to admit.  We bought one of the early photo printers when we moved to D.C. and got real jobs a few years ago, but we didn’t have much luck with it.  Each picture took several minutes to print, the ink ran, and the archival quality of the photos was … nil, making it useless for scrapbooking, etc.  But this printer?  A whole new generation, baby!

The HP Compact Printer was ready-to-go, right out of the box.  My three-year-old and I opened the box, plugged it in, and immediately started playing with it.  Oh, sure, we should have read the directions, but we really didn’t need to.  We admired the sleek black box and began immediately to open it up like a Transformer.  The screen popped up, the back opened slightly so the photo paper could slide in, and the front door opened up to reveal four slots for camera cards and the exit slot for the printed photo.  There are no extra parts to attach or lose, and the design is simplicity itself.

We popped the camera memory card in the slot and began to play.

Almost immediately, the screen showed us the last 4 pictures taken.  Widget (my three-year-old) figured out how to scroll back and forth using the touch screen and the arrows.  The screen is big enough to get a good idea of which photo is which and clear enough to detect details like whether his hands were over his face or his brother was looking at or away from the camera.  Real details would have to wait for the print or be prescreened on the computer, but this was good enough to determine which photos were worth printing.  When we found one we liked, a quick touch of the screen enlarged it to full size and another selected it for printing. 

Printing couldn’t be easier.  We just slid a piece of photo paper in the back, touched the print icon, and it began to print, quickly and quietly.  Photo paper is inexpensive; the ink will be the largest recurring cost, I think.

HP also sent us two photobooks to try out.  The small one (4×6) was easy to use … we just printed pictures normally, then attached the photo book around them.  Easy, peasy, couldn’t be better.  I used mine to make a photobook to throw in my bag and take to chemo each week, but it would be a great gift idea too!

In short, this is a product I didn’t know I needed but I really really like.  It’s simple and easy to select and print out photos for the grandparents on the spot.  Kids love to use it and it seems to be goof-proof enough to let them help.  And best of all, I’ve even had better luck taking pictures of my camera-shy little boy by promising him that he could help print one out afterwards!  Easy and fun.  HP has changed my mind on at-home photo printers.

HP is running a sale this week on photobooks (20% off at this link) and printers at retailers nationwide.

Vincent Shoes

Vincent shoes.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from these soft-shoes for prewalkers, but when Parent Bloggers asked me to take a look, I thought, why not?  What do I have to lose?

The question really should have been, what was I waiting for?

The new prewalker collection from Vincent is simply adorable, and we get compliments on Little Bear’s new footwear nearly everywhere we go.  We tried the mini frog style (in baby blue) and the mini style (in black and white) and have been more than satisfied with their performance, comfort, and style. 

Little Bear wasn’t sure what to make of them at first, but it only took him minutes to deftly test out his new foot sensations and take his first step in shoes.  And then his second step.  And then a third.  And then — wait, Little Bear, we don’t have all the gates up yet! 

My only complaint?  That Bear’s feet are growing so fast that he’s almost out of the 12-month size (infant 4/EU 19) already!  No fair!

Little Bear models the Mini Frog, in Blue, and the Mini, in Black and White

Love ‘em?  Then you’ll be happy to know that Vincent is giving away $50 gift certificates to TWO lucky readers. All you have to do to win is check out the Vincent site and leave a comment on the Vincent post at PBN  with your favorite style (any size) and why before 11/1.  EVERYONE wins with a discount code – ”OCT-20-OFF” for 20% anything in the shop through 11/11/07 (first time purchase only). Trick or Treat?  This is definitely a treat!

Edible Arrangements

Does someone you know have a new baby?  Are you missing a holiday “back home”?  Thinking about sending flowers just to cheer someone up?  Check out this new option in many areas (over 790 locations!) across the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom — edible arrangements!

A friend sent us one of these recently, and it was such a delight!  Daddy even sent us one from his trip last week, just to let us know that he was missing us … and it was just beautiful. 

The arrangements arrive fresh, chilled, and beautifully arranged.  The fruit (at least from our location) is some of the best I’ve ever tasted, and, with the option to have some of the fruits dipped in chocolate, a true treat!

The arrangements are unfortunately not inexpensive, but they are in line with the cost of a nice arrangement of flowers — and these taste a lot better!

P.S. to Dads … nothing says “I love you” like a dozen chocolate-dipped strawberries, delivered in the middle of the day….