Why is an Invasive Ultrasound Important?

Image credit: Isabelle Ultrasound : Flickr CC BY 2.0

An invasive ultrasound is rarely pleasant, but it’s often necessary to ensure a woman’s health and also to protect her against potentially harmful medical situations. If you are uncomfortable with the procedure, talk to your doctor about your concerns to ensure it is medically necessary. There are some cases where other tests can be run, but in other cases an invasive ultrasound is the only way to really understand what is going on inside your body.

This type of ultrasound gives the doctor a clear picture of any problems that might be plaguing some of your internal organs. Like any ultrasound, your medical staff will be able to see what sorts of problems or issues you are having, which gives them a chance to make a more accurate diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment. It’s a rare opportunity to take a look inside your body and identify anything that looks like it could lead to larger and more serious problems.

One of the most common reasons a woman will need an invasive ultrasound is to detect an ectopic pregnancy. This type of pregnancy is dangerous to a woman’s health because the fertilized egg will attach itself to a fallopian tube instead of settling into the uterus. This can be life-threatening, and an invasive ultrasound is required to confirm the pregnancy and prepare for the removal of that egg. These types of ultrasounds are also extremely helpful in identifying cysts, tumors, fibroids and other harmful growths that could be causing you to feel ill.

Your doctor will likely order an invasive ultrasound if a particular test comes back as inconclusive or something leads your healthcare providers to believe that further scrutiny or testing is required. Don’t focus on what will be required of you during the procedure, or any pain or discomfort you fear you will feel. Instead, try and turn your thoughts to something positive. It’s a benefit to medical science that such technology exists, and that you are able to learn so much about your body and your health from these types of procedures.

Your medical staff members are professional and well-trained. They will do whatever they can to ease your anxiety before and during the procedure, and they will explain to you exactly what is going to happen so you know what to expect. Ask any questions you might have, and keep the lines of communication open with your doctor so you’re aware of what’s happening with your body and how you can best keep yourself healthy and strong. If this type of procedure is not absolutely necessary, your doctor will find another way to treat you, however if such a procedure is ordered, gather all the information you can and prepare yourself for the medical necessity.

This post was written for I’m Well Confused by Glenn Josephik. Glenn is an account representative and the marketing coordinator at MedCorp LLC, the industry leader and premier business source for used portable ultrasound systems. You can follow Glenn Josephik on Google+.

How will you watch the Footie in Brazil? #Spon #Comp

Heya everyone!


We all know we're days away from one of the largest ever football tournaments ever and it's not just the people of Brazil who are buzzing. We know it'll be one of the most talked about events in June that'll be watched worldwide by millions of people and with advances on mobile technologies those millions have new and improved ways to watch on a wide choice of mediums, chat and share the latest news from the pitch with people around the globe. Trust me on this, social media is on overload, there has been whispers on the internet some of twitters dedicated servers have been assigned to handle the stir crazy fans and their tweets

What makes this footie tournament special is that many will take advantage of new mobile or on-line technologies the vast majority of the world will be watching on their TV sets. Yes that magical box in the corner of your living room renowned for how it can bring us all together and can bring on a world of emotions. And with the tournament nearly upon us we've teamed up with the lovely people at LG UK to find out about how we'll be watching it, where we'll be watching it and how we share news, information and banter that goes together with such a huge football tournament. By means of LG's Brazil footie viewing survey embedded below.

As a way of saying thanks, LG are giving you the chance to win a £150 Currys voucher for taking part.

I admit I'm not the largest football fan my girls have been going football crazy and for once I'm agree with them. there is a definite buzz around the 2014 tournament with so many communities coming together to support their country. it's going to be a blast!

Also what's your prediction for the football? And do you think England will get through the play off's?

Paul

Disclosure: This post is published in association with LG UK. Terms and Conditions are listed below:

• Closing date is 06-06-2014 and entry is available to UK residents over the age of 18 only. The winner will be chosen at random and will be notified within 5 working days by email.
   
• If the winner does not respond with a valid email address within 14 days of contact the giveaway will be re-drawn and the prize re-allocated.
   
• The winner must have fulfilled the mandatory requirement. The prize is not transferable. The prize is being fulfilled by LG UK.
• LG take your privacy seriously.
• Your details will NOT be used by LG UK for any further marketing activities or passed to any third party.
• This competition is open to UK residents only.

The Youview Review #Spon

Morning all. 

Over the last few weeks I've been playing with a new gadget. None other than the YouView+, the new freeview and smart TV On Demand viewer backed by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva. I'll tell you now it's a fantastic bit of kit, but we'll go through the reasons why I love it during the review! 

What is it? 

Youview is an internet connected set top box with the all the Free to Air channels and Radio stations from the freeview network you could want. On top of that the set top box has a 500Gb hard disk drive for up to 300 hours of recording. Additionally this set top box is one of the most compatible on the market for televisions of all ages due to it's HDMI, Scart and RCA outputs meaning it'll run with a vast array of Televisions of all ages and types. 

To set YouView up is a Painless process. You simply connect the box to your TV, connect the Ethernet cable to your broadband router and the box's rear connection, Turn it on and within no times you'll be greeted with a very simple setup, It's designed for anyone to be able to set it up with minimal fuss. Once tuned and updated you're good to go.

Here's a video of the UI and general feel of the Youview service.



The User Interface (UI) of the YouView box is very advanced, in fact I think it trumps the competitors UI. Once setup the Backwards EPG is blissful to use. It offers you 14 days of options, 7 days in the future so you can add reminders for your favourite shows and the 7 days previous programming with the option to view on demand content direct from the guide itself regardless of the provider. As most* YouView boxes have a hard drive inside you can also record series at the same time as watching another channel thanks to it's dual tuners.  Very useful if you want to watch both Almost Naked Animals and Andy's Wild Dinosaur Adventures and they're on at the same time.
The genius part of YouView Boxes is the built in online connectivity to give you a vast array of free and paid for on demand services. Free services are BBC Iplayer, ITVPlayer, 4On Demand, S4c, 5 On Demand, Milkshake. Whereas Sky's Now TV and Sky Store are subscription based services. Sadly Netflix or LoveFilm are not avaliable at present, if this changes I'll let you know by re-updating the post. If you get a YouView box from BT or TalkTalk it may come with TalkTalk's or BT's Television service options, including the BT Sport service. (Plusnet are actively trialling YouView services at the moment - More on that in a separate post if PN get back to me.)

Parent's rejoice. The YouView box has parental controls. While I've yet to experiment with them I've been told they work fantastically from other users.

Since installing the Box both the kids and I have argued over who watches what! so the dual tuners comes into it's own here as I usually lose and end up recording my thing to watch when they go to bed. The kids have gotten used to the controls and understood how to work all the options faster than me. I kid you not they found the MyView page of recordings before I did. If used to another providers box you may need a day or two to get used to it but it's not a hard box and UI to learn. The only snags I've noticed are Milkshake On Demand. It seems to glitch every now and again and the box gets toasty in enclosed spaces

The mobile app is pretty good. I've only used it a few times I can record or set reminders while I'm out and about. I've tried it so far on 3g, the local bus company bus wifi and at home and it works pretty well. With adding a device being an absolute doddle even the kids can do it.

The Box itself is a very good looking device with a brushed steel effect on the front of the box with capacitive touch sensitive power button and menu key, Hidden under a flap on the right hand side is a USB port. I feel they missed a trick here as I think they should have included a smartcard slot for Internet providers to use to add their own TV Services, but not a major disaster nonetheless. On the rear of the Device we have the full array of ports as shown on the image below. These ports include RF in/out, USB, Scart, HDMI, SPDIF, RCA AV OUT, power and Ethernet.

I now I've mentioned this before but with such an array of ports compatible with the vast majority of older and more modern Televisions it's a very wise choice for those not with an older CRT or early LCD TV knowing the TV they have is 90% sure to work without hassle. Also if they choose to upgrade to a newer television it'll still work fantastically.

In conclusion the Youview+ boxes are a fantastic bit of kit. With a plethora of channels and entertainment for all the family it's a perfect choice for those who want a quality experience without the monthly subscriptions. Additonally the mobile app for IOS and Android works seamlessly to make the whole experience a breeze.I will probably buy another one for the bedroom in the future. 

If you have any questions please drop them below and I'll respond asap. 

Paul

This is a Netmum's sponsored review.To find out more click the button:

*A model with a single tuner and no hard disk drive has been released recently by Huawei and seems to be exclusively available to TalkTalk essential customers at the moment.

Now if you want your own YouView or YouView+ Box I can help you out. 

If you're looking at changing broadband providers then you can get a free YouView box as part of a broadband subscription from BT or TalkTalk (activation / installation fees may apply)

You can also buy Youview+  boxes from all major retailers and many independent electrical stores including John Lewis, Currys, Argos, Amazon, Richer Sounds and Euronics. with the RRP being around £229

You'll need to make sure with your internet service provider that you are on an unlimited package to ensure you don't incur added costs for more bandwidth. Also make sure your provider can give you download speeds of 3mb as a minimum. Otherwise it may not work too well. 

The Paediasure Vanilla review #Spon

Howdy everyone!
My youngest Lissy is a fussy little monster when it comes to food and always has been, some of this stems to me as I'm also fussy but try not to be in front of the kids, especially knowing how it can influence them on what they eat and drink. So when we were invited to try PaediaSure shake by the Netmums team we jumped on board, curious to see if we can curb our youngest's fussy streak, which seems to be getting larger in recent times.

For those wondering, Paediasure Shake is a nutritious shake for the more fussy of eater to help support them adding nutrients they may be missing from their eating habits, some of these are pretty crucial to our children's future growth and development.

"PaediaSure Shake is a food supplement containing essential nutrients, providing balanced nutrition to help support parents during their child’s fussy eating phase. PaediaSure Shake is formulated to support growth and development in children who are generally well"

Additionally, the Paediasure Fussy Eater website has worked tirelessly to create a 12 week plan to help beat the fussy eating gremlins. Paired with the shake it can help children aged 1-10 years old go from refusing to eat to an improvement. I've not had the shake 12 weeks but we have given it a go with the plan and aim to resume again shortly once we order some of the additional flavours. Why we've stopped the plan for the moment should become clear further down the page.

PaediaSure Shake is available in three flavours – vanilla, strawberry and chocolate, we were sent the vanilla shake. On opening the tin it has a nice vanilla smell. Adding five scoops of the powdered solution into 190ml of water and mixing well it's ready to drink. On passing it to Lissy she gave it a smell and told me it "smells like vanilla!" She then took a big gulp and gave a pause, the kind of unsure pause that seconds feel like minutes, she tries it again and tells me with a thumbs down "Dad. I don't like this it tastes yucky."

I tried it to see what the problem was. Initially it tasted pleasant, not too thick and somewhat refreshing and the Vanilla flavour is not over the top. Unfortunately it has a somewhat bitter after-taste. Once that bites it taints the shake leaving a taste of mixed Toffee and Fudge. In my opinion it's still a palatable drink but not all children will like it, so I'd recommend researching into the flavours before purchasing. That said, we'll be purchasing the Chocolate and Strawberry mixes to try them in the very near future as we want to get on top of Lissy's fight with the fuss monsters and this could be a key tool into winning the fight.
One thing to note is the drink can be filling to smaller tummies. Lissy drank a whole glass of the shake shortly after she told us her tummy was full. This may be due to her being a smaller four year old but it may cause children to not want their lunch or dinner so consider this when using the recommended two glasses a day!

To wrap up the shake is not the worst product out there for fussy eaters but I hope the manufacturers produce tester powder pots or pre mixed bottles so parents can try all three flavours and work out what's best for your children. If used with the 12 week plan it could be a crucial tool to help children beat fussy eating. This is why I'm happy to buy more flavours to restart the 12 week plan with my daughter knowing if we tackle it head on it'll be a worthwhile investment for her future.

Paediasure Shake is suited to children aged 1-10 years old and is available at Boots, The 12 week plan and more information for parents and specialists is available at the Fussy Eaters website.

I'll be happy to awnser any questions about the shake on here or via twitter as @hooker1uk or on Google plus +Paul Hooker

Paul.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network, a unique community of parent bloggers from around the UK who have been handpicked by the Netmums team to review products and brands on their behalf. I have been paid expenses and supplied with a product sample for this review but retain all editorial control. All my Netmums Reviews will display the Netmums logo within the post

This is a Netmum's sponsored review.To find out more click the button: 

Childrens savings fun with Pigby and Friends

More images from the day are on my Flickr 

Heya everyone!
A few weeks ago me and Vee took a trip to London to learn about banks and savings and to help Natwest and Britmums tell the world how children see banks, savings and money and what their thoughts were on essential questions like what is a bank, what does a bank look like and who looks after your money inside a bank. This was filmed by an amazing film crew and here's how it came out. So, so proud of Vee!

VoxPops by NatWest are a short series of videos where children are asked about money and finances to tie in with the bank's aim of both teaching more children to save money and to bring back saving ideas with Natwest's new First Account by going back to the old school to bring an entirely new generation of savers the epitome of awesome with Pigby, the latest NatWest Piggybank.

I hear you people. I know your casting you're minds back around 30 years ago now to remember the Piggybanks from NatWest. They were something special indeed, I remember getting upset Mum or Dad wouldn't get me one. 

Image credit - PiggybankPage.co.uk 

For the more nostalgic people who read my blog I'm going to disappoint you, the Westminster Piggy family are not being bought back,
But this time NatWest made the epic decision to ask children in 2012 to help design the piggybank in the competition 'Pigs By Kids'. After 2000 designs and 25,000 votes from around the UK. Finally the winning design by 13 year old Kwamina was chosen, then to the Aardman animation studio, the creators of Wallace and Gromit and her design soon came to life and was called Pigby. However that's not where it stops. Pigby decided to bring his friends to the party too. If you look at the video below you'll see what I mean.

Pigby and Friends are par of NatWest's new First Saver accounts, accounts designed for children aged three and upwards. In an 80's throwback they utilise the Pigby bank as an incentive for your children to learn how to save money. That way the kids can have money saved for the moment they want Dinosaurs, cheesy pop music the band's hoodie or even a games console.
On top of this Natwest with Aardman have created an interactive smartphone app to help children learn about saving money and have fun at the same time (of course parent's load it onto your phones for the kids but I bet it'll be fun! Kids get permission before installing or going online!) And for those who prefer their children not to pinch your smartphone there is also a Pigby's savings zone web portal too which comes in your child's welcome pack

I dropped Natwest a line and Aardman Animations to get their thoughts on Pigby and the first saver account and they said the following

David Crawford, Head of Savings at NatWest, says:
“Many parents may fondly remember the NatWest pigs from their childhood, and we hope this new generation of pigs can help teach children that saving can be fun as well as beneficial in later life. 

“By working with Aardman, who already excite and inspire children across the world with their animation, we’ve created a more modern set of characters to teach kids about the benefits of saving to buy the things they want.”

Heather Wright, Executive Producer at Aardman Animations adds:

“We have had a huge amount of fun developing these characters, especially Pigby, who although he is the youngest of the group and wants to be just like them in terms of their activities and escapades, is the one they all rely on when it comes to planning ahead!” 

Personally I think this is a great way to help children save money. They see more and more toys and gadgets on television they want and to give them a way to save money to get that one thing they want will be a great incentive for them to look after it and be proud they've bought and saved for it with their own money from their bank account.

The NatWest First Saver account is open to children under 16 and they’ll earn 1% on balances under £25,000 and 0.5% for balances over this amount. It’s an instant access account which means that savings are not locked in – helping children to balance saving versus spending.

For more information on Pigby and the Natwest First saver account please click here or pop into your local branch and get the kids saving.

Do you encourage the children to save money if so tell me how the kids save their pennies?
Paul

Disclosure: This post was written in association with Natwest and Britmums.

Giving the living room some love.

Hi all. 

It may be school holiday time, but. My oh my project tidy is coming into full swing finally.
Just some painting, filling old holes and little cosmetic bits are nearly done and the living room will be back to it's former glory.

However, this weekend I sat down and looked at the room as it is. And as happy as I am with the progress we've made in the living room I could not help but see it’s missing something, A little word called Love.

The one little word, love can turn a sterile, boring living space place into a cosy, warm place full of character. Making it a fab little place to enjoy family time, have friends round for dinner or even watching a box set marathon or playing video games with the kids!

But how does a bloke with minimal style sense go about and make a place a home? For me a home is a place with internet access wherever I can sit. So this was going to be a difficult one to pull off.

I looked online at many “home style” websites. Yes, the pictures looked pretty but the thing that concerned me here was if I were to style our living room like some of these “style” publications I’m sure the effort required to tidy these living areas up would become a huge chore with three children and a disabled partner. So I spoke to my sister in law, a clever lady who has a real talent for making an empty shell homely and loved.

“You Muppet try cushions” she exclaimed to me, as she said it I wondered why I’d not thought about it. So I went looking. The local home places were OK but lacked something, the ability to be child proof, with a 4, 5 and 13 year old they will take quite an amount of stick. I recently found K&Co. this morning.  Within moments I was presented with a wide selection of cushions, throws and other lovely bits to help make our living room become awesome again. I've found some amazing purple throws for the chairs, a fox cushion for my corner chair (the corner of the room for relaxing before their bed time), Lola cushions for the leather chairs and a batman cushion for the girls

I feel the brownie points will increase somewhat this week once I've ordered them. 

Which beings me to ask. If you’re thinking of changing the look of your living room, what would you do to make it fantastic?

Paul

Disclaimer: This post is written in association with K&Co

PC Gaming! Back Atcha!

Morning all.

Between writing posts I've been playing some old PC games, Doom, The Legacy, Sam and Max hit the road and Pinball Fantasies. They always seem to chill me out somewhat when stressed. But I always get grumbled at for pulling the old IBM PS/2 model 70 out of the shoe cupboard due to the mess I cause in the process.

I've been told by the wife I'm to leave it in there until we move now. To say I'm gutted is an understatement. Trust me, It's sad. But I have to keep tidy while were planning to move I suppose.

This morning I was sent a link to Green Man Gaming, A site you can buy some epic games from companies like Square-Enix, Sega, Ubisoft and more. If you like old school games like me. This will be a heavenly reminiscence. With classic games rejigged to run on newer computers without the need for the old Pc, Dosbox or old console which could be a lucky dip if it works.

Looking more into the site you have a wide list of new games, including the top 10 pc games, Including Independent game houses. This is refreshing to see as many indie game houses are shunned by games sites. It's a true step in the right direction for games.

Looking for a certain genre? Trust me many are covered, from shoot em up's to family games and many more too.

Before you console owners begin to feel unloved. I love my consoles too. I'm happy to tell you that Xbox 360 and Playstation3 games are available on GMG too.

At any time you grow bored of a game you can easily sell it back to GreenMan Gaming with little hassle through their trade in pages. If you use the Capsule tool it gives you an online store right on your pc desktop, with many titles available to download and play within the tool. And again if you get bored of a title you can trade in directly from the program too

One thing I noticed which I liked a lot is how the staff are willing to put their hands up and admit fault when things don't go right.

What do you prefer: Console, Retro, PC, or other games? Tell us in the comments.

Paul

Disclosure:

This post is bought to you with GreenManGaming.com.

Solving the Kid's Disasters: Fixing their Wrongdoings in your Home

Have you ever popped upstairs to do something and come back down to find crayon all over the wall or a toilet roll stuffed down the loo? Every child has done, or will do, something during their infant years and if they don't, you're one of the lucky ones.

The good thing is that most issues can be fixed without much, if any, detriment to your home interior.

A Blocked Toilet

While blockages are a common issue regardless, having children can increase your chances of an overflowing loo. Knowing what to do if you have a blocked toilet can save you a lot of hassle and while calling a plumber or Dyno is sometimes inevitable, most of the time, callout fees can be avoided if you are willing to do it yourself.

Shifting a blockage that your child has caused will probably not require the wonders of bleach, because it's probably not biodegradable. It's more likely to be half a packet of baby wipes or the inside of a toilet roll with the rest of the toilet paper stuffed on top of it. Invest in a plunger for this and some rubber gloves.

Crayon on walls

Your kids may think that their art is nothing short of a masterpiece but all you can think is that your walls are not a canvas. While the easy option would be to paint over it, you may wish to try removing it before reaching for the paintbrush. The humble baby wipe or even a rolled up piece of bread can often help to shift a stubborn crayon or felt tip squiggle.

Nail Varnish on the Carpets

You may be asking yourself how they got it but the simple answer is, they just did. All you have to do is try and get it out of the shag pile which will likely require a lot of nail varnish remover and a great deal of elbow grease.

Sharpie on the Sideboard

We can handle it when it's a felt tip pen that will clean off but when our little cherubs manage to get permanent marker on our antique wooden furniture, it's more of a challenge. Apparently, drawing over the marker with a dry erase marker then wiping off with a paper towel will do the trick.

We all love our kids dearly but we also know they can be real tinkers sometimes. Cover their tracks with these helpful tips. 

Have you got any other tips you would like to share? Tell me in the comments, the best will be added to the post. 

Paul 

Disclosure. This post was produced in association with Dyno. 

rechargeablebatteries.co.uk Review

Evening all.

I've been in a bit of a tizz recently. The batteries in my camera were becoming useless. Although at a year old I know they had taken a beating from both me and the kids. As sad as it was I knew it was time to replace them. after buying duds on ebay a friend suggested I try rechargeablebatteries.co.uk, an online store for all types of batteries from the standard AAA and AA to huge sealed lead acid batteries.  , chargers, USB power banks and testing tools.

I was not too sure what type to choose, last time I had to do this I walked out of a local store with a very light wallet and low par performance as a result. I called their land-line number (no 0845 rubbish here) and spent around ten minutes on the phone with a member of their team. They were extremely friendly, understanding my needs. we ended up agreeing on a set of Energizer batteries with smart charger. I'll tell you what I think of the package after BritMums.

One thing they also mentioned on the phone to me was to look through the FAQ's and Charge time information as they had all the information there in one place for everyone. Especially moose's who fail to read instructions

I'll update the post on Monday on how good the batteries and charger are.
While we wait for that I'll ask do you use rechargeable batteries and are you happy with them?

Paul

Disclosure
This post was written for rechargeablebatteries.co.uk, but the views in the post are from my experiences through purchasing with them.

Holiday madness.

Hi all.

It's been a strange week. I received a phone call from the in laws to say they want to borrow the smalls over the school holidays and take them away. Woohoo! Then they dropped the ball. "Our internet is down, could you look on the net for some good deals?" Of course I can… Well if I knew what I was looking for that it! So my challenge for the day was set!

I Panicked going straight went online clueless. Thankfully I searched for holiday comparison sites and found my way to Icelolly.com, a holiday comparison site with many choices and options including Disney holidays, Ski Breaks, Hen and stag weekenders, cruises and much more too. Everyone could find a holiday easily here. While browsing the site you are presented with a simple interface with many options which were complimented by country and region, dates and flexibility, the duration of the holiday even down to the most convenient or local airport available is listed.

Depending on your choice you will find multiple deals available for you and your holiday needs, suitable for families on a budget, party goers looking for the latest rave up to couples wanting to spend a quiet weekend away from the kids. All options, including Disney can be covered in a no nonsense layout with clear information you receive on you've searched.

How does it work?
I knew you were going to ask this. IceLolly scours the web hunting out a good deal for you and your requirements finding licensed and approved travel agents so you can work out what is the best choice for your needs. In some cases you may receive multiple results for the same resort but from different providers. This could bring more substantial savings to you.

Once you find the holiday package you are happy with, call the agents on a dedicated phone number to discuss the package with them, quoting the reference provided with the package.

I don’t have internet on a computer. Can I use my phone to look?
Yes indeed. On testing with an ipad, android phone and basic nokia it opened up a perfectly scaled mobile page. It’s safe to say if you only have a mobile you’re very well covered.  

I need a car. Can they help me?
That’s already covered. Just click the link at the top of each Ice Lolly page for quotes on car hire around the many resorts available.

How do I tell what the resort will look like?
Each resort has a ‘Hotel information’ link has specific information services and facilities available on each resort. Including: the star rating, food provided facilities within the hotels, Pools information and entertainment for families.

I'm happy to say the site is easy to use with all information presented in a clear and concise manner to help you choose the perfect holiday for you, no matter the location. Tell me what you think of Icelolly. 

Paul 

Disclosure This post is brought to you in association with Icelolly.com 

We're official Maclaren Toy testers!

That's right!

I'm announcing the good news that we have been offered the opportunity to be an official toy testers for Maclaren Baby, meaning that the monsters get to tell us what they think as well.

I'm not going to elaborate on what we will be reviewing until it arrives, which should be very soon, I will say it is going to be epic for the girls though.

Until next time.

:o)