The advice thread for random problems

[eyes wide shut]

Hi I have just recovered from covid. To be honest it’s like a very mild flu. Achey cold lethargic but mostly it’s the fuzzy brain fog. I couldn’t think straight at all couldn’t work anything out properly that was the worst side effect I can say for the covid. I’m 2 days negative and now have an annoying cough and a runny nose. Definitely negative thougb.

 

[Purrrrrrr]

This is so true ... some people might think their friends / family are being jealous by alerting them to it.

------------------

I am so, so cold. I think I'm coming down with something. Just helps to tell someone(s) in all honesty! It's (meant to be) summer here, although there's been a bit of a cold wind today (still sunny though). I took a bath - didn't help; put on a couple of layers; didn't help; cuddled with my dog; didn't help; had a cup of hot tea and some chicken soup with gluten-free garlic bread; didn't help ... I think it's time for an early night with the electric blanket turned on high.

Yes! just before I get ill I always feel really cold. Feel better soon

 

[Fearne]

Hello!

Please may I get some advice on something really bloody boring?

I ordered some linen and cotton blend curtains and they have arrived friggin' creased! I cannot be bothered to send them back and will just buy a steamer as will use it for my other curtains to freshen them up. Can anyone recommend a good steamer to get the creases out? I have searched and searched but a lot of the reviews seem quite rubbish so now I am stuck as to which will be best to buy.

Any help will be very much appreciated

What I've done woth curtains before if you pop them on a light wash or just a rinse and spin so they're damp, then hang up. Minimal effort. As yours have linen is too they might need a quick iron after.

 

[BaffledWarthog]

I have a shampoo related problem. I’ve been using ouai shampoo for around 5 months, in the beginning it made a huge difference to my hair but lately it just doesn’t lather and I’m having to shampoo twice. Sometimes after I’ve washed my hair has these patches where it’s like my hair is soaked in oil, even when my hair wasn’t that greasy before.
I washed with head and shoulders and had a lovely lather so maybe the problem is with my ouai shampoo
I completely soak my hair, I massage the scalp, I properly rinse which is everything google tell me I should be doing. Oh I only use a heat protection spray on my hair and wash every other day so I don’t think my hair is overly dirty.

I had this exact same problem, I started changing my shampoo every few days and now I swap between Tigi Bed Head and Tresemme. I also got quite a chunk of it cut off and it seems to have improved

 

[Snippysnips]

This may help you - https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...bled-people-and-people-with-health-conditions

As you can see, it's all about making adjustments for people who are suited to the job. Unless you can hand on heart go through the job description and show exactly why you are the perfect person for that job (and have written it in your application) they haven't done anything wrong.

Thanks, they didn't tell me why I wasn't right for it despite me not only matching what the were looking for but having advanced highers an experience in that job

 

[Melian]

Interesting, I've seen in some other threads a while ago people saying 100-200 is what they go with per couple seems ridiculous, especially when just attending the wedding can cost a lot...

Give what you can afford. I'm sure your friends would appreciate your presence than the amount of money you give.

 

[Purrrrrrr]

You just let them know an they tick the box, the voucher only covers so much an I don't believe it's for any designer ones either

I myself am only on ESA an I usually go for the glasses at £19 cause those are completly free for me, the ones after it start to cost because even though the voucher says it covers that amount of the I think £40 ones by the time they add things on like the lens an such it actually makes the cost go up an you end up having to pay the excess, so before picking frames I'd ask if the lens is going be expensive or not incase you pick £40 frames thinking your voucher will make that entirely free an you end up with a excess to have to pay

My frames and everything added* come to £250 or thereabouts. So hopefully the voucher takes it down a little

* didn't get the cheapest varifocals as the actual viewing gap was ridiculously small , I didnt get the next one up either but the one after.
antiglare coating as living down the lanes night driving with these newer headlights is dangeraus and any help is welcome. although many say they don't help ..

 

[Pesky Tarian]

Does anybody have any personal recommendations for online prescription glasses that don’t cost a fortune?

I can recommend Glasses Direct. I actually prefer my cheapo spare pair to my branded ones now.

 

[monga]

Anyone had a delivery using Evri before? If they miss you do they leave a card in your letter box?

Yes they do , if your tracking is coming up delivered they should have emailed you a pic of where they left it.

 

[Emiliabrazkow]

Ladies… a really random/embarrassing one

does anyone else struggle with terrible feet? Any cures?? I have thick thick skinboth big toes and on the outer side of each foot under the baby toe. The skin under my feet constantly feels tight and hot, all I can bare to wear are runners. My feet are in agony/cut to bits if I wear any other type of shoe even Birkenstocks. I can’t wear Vans/Converse etc. I have been fitted and definitely wear my correct size and don’t have particularly narrow or wide feet.

I wash and moisturize my feet daily, use a thicker cream at night before bed, I’ve tried the pumice stones/buffers/salicylic acid cleanser. Tried all the socks/treatments from chemist and Amazon…

sorry for the disgusting post but they’re actually getting me down, dreading this summer and having my feet be hot and swollen all the time…

I do have toe nails problems, but about my skin on toes every night i put CeraVe cream or L'occatone brand losion ( dont know did a spell the brand right), and then i put socks on it amd leave it for night, and i did saw amazing changes when it comes to old hard dead skin there

 

[monga]

Wow. Thank you for being kind. Sat here in tears.

GP won’t support, they won’t even allow me meds’ I need told me to buy them; I’m on a daily collection as so severely depressed and they demanded that stopped as the risk didn’t matter however, the pharmacy refused to give me enough. The gp said they’re wasting £17000 on giving me daily scripts. I’ve only been seen once since March 2020. I’m not allowed to change or see another gp as ‘too needy and refuse to respect boundaries’ (the needy stuff was when I was conned into asking for help with depression and associated issues, the boundaries was complaining about a gp who went on holiday start of lockdown which they showed off about as it’s just a silly cold, week later my care was all ended as everyone was going to die!!).

CAB spoke to mental health team who say I’m fine, no needs and need to work (still sheilding and all services cab/gp/mental health team still all via phone so they’ve no clue how things are, I ‘sound’ great so am). I’ve several physical and mental health conditions but can access nothing in terms of help because people phone social services safeguarding or mental health team and told ive no needs. I’m not better just had everything abandoned in March 2020. I won’t get more than basic £70.80 a week as I’m classed as refusing to work; eventually I’ll lose that too.

Finally hoarding isn’t recognised as a mental health condition where I live in the uk. The quote ‘filthy and lazy’ came from mental health team. I was told I sort it or I’ll be put back on the street again and no one will ever rent to me again, not even hostels. The fire brigade lied I’d get full support for years (because that’s what it takes) but all that’s on offer (not to me, as I’ve no needs) is two students with bin liners one hour for two weeks and EVERYTHING will be binned like the last time and it was so devastating I can’t put it in words. I lost my passport, birth certificate, every single thing I owned (photos of dead loved ones, things I can never replace) and was forced to start again (ended up with even more). It doesn’t help that my bin was stolen Jan 2020 and landlord couldn’t replace due to council being closed since March 2020 so couldn’t get rid of things even if I wanted to for months on end.

That doesn’t sound right at all,what happened to duty of care to a patient, why have they stopped your prescription? Do they feel you’re abusing the medication? Evan at that they shouldn’t be abandoning you like that when it’s clear you’re in need of support.

 

[TheGlossy]

@Some People! Thank you so much for the kind words & expert insight! Much appreciated! 100% agree with everything you said. All is very accurate.

Can you be my hairdresser? Haha. You were spot on without even me telling you what I exactly wanted. I wanted a lighter brown indeed with fine dimensional highlights, not a full blown balayage. This is what I told this stylist - my previous hairdresser never did a balayage and always stuck to tint and halo yet this one kept saying “I don’t understand how she was able to do your hair without balayage”.

Given she said they could not find my records, I showed pictures of the brown I wanted and she said it required balayage. Again, the picture had zero highlights. It was just a lighter brown.

I felt she was a bit done deaf and did not want to listen at all. Not to mention, when she asked me what type of color I wanted for the fine dimensional highlights, she didn’t give me 1 minute to think, closed her book of color samples and said “we’ll just go ahead and see how light we can go”. I therefore had no clue what she was going to do.

I think I am quite reluctant about going back there again because she was extremely defensive and rude. The way she stormed off without even saying a word to me when she saw me at the reception when I was about to payit was disrespectful. I cannot be treated this way when I’m spending upwards of 200e to get my hair done. It’s a pretty hefty budget especially in times of recession. For me the disrespect and rudeness were the nail in the coffin. If she had acted in a nice and polite manner, I would have given the salon another shot even with a different stylist. However, in these circumstances, I have a hard time getting past her poor attitude. The manager was kind and lovely which is why I feel bad he had to write this service off as a loss as they did not charge me, but maybe he should realize how his staff deals with complex situations is a reflection of their brand.

I also think she is the hairdresser and should have properly assessed whether the colors would blend well together instead of doing a patch work on my hair hoping for the best. It is her job after all to make sure the color looks uniform and well blended. I honestly cannot believe she said this terrible patch work is what I asked for and would be willing to pay for this.

I decided to book a consultation with another salon to see what their take on is when it comes to a fix. We’ll see. I was asked by the manager of the initial salon to ring today, but I haven’t yet. My hair looks far worse than it did yesterday

Here is what it looks like today:

 

[littlepup]

So bit of a strange one this, an not sure if this is somthing I need to contact police about

A while ago I was woken at around 2am with someone standing opposite my garden, the house looks onto a nature reserve an there's a path that goes round it, thought 2am was a bit of a strange time for someone to be out so watched a bit an they seemed to stand for quite a while with a dulled down torch, so grabbed my phone in the hopes it could focus an grab a pic even though it was dark an they suddenly took off running

Few nights later, same thing although it was around midnight this time, stood for ages with a dulled torch an then walked off, thought perhaps maybe they done nightshift an this is them walking a dog an they were just waiting on it, but then started to realise that they didn't seem to be watching anything other than the houses plus the way they ran off last time didn't feel like they had a dog and also why run off if that's what you were doing

Just got them tonight again, it's 20 to 1 in the morning an definitely no dog, torch was bright an they looked like they were looking for somthing, kept shinning it across the reserve an then towards the house before going back across the reserve then turned off the torch after catching the house windows an walked off with the torch turned off

Am I just being paranoid? Will police even be intrested in this or would I be wasting their time

Sounds like the torch is too dull for lamping/poaching?
We’ve woods nearby & the older generation is convinced anyone there past nightfall is part of a drugs drop/pickup. Apparently one hides them for someone else to find. I’ve always laughed but it sounds plausible in this situation.
It’s the reserve they’re looking at, not the houses right?

 

[Snippysnips]

I promise I’m not dirty when I say this
But for about a few days now I’ve had no more than 2-3 flies in my house. I’ve hunted high and low to see if there’s something they are attracted too. But have been unable to find anything. I’ve cleaned up. I’ve mopped up. Ive bleached. I’ve used zoflora. I’ve just (within last hour) moved my outdoor bins as they were originally under the kitchen window (on outside) I empty my kitchen bin regularly but I can’t seem to get rid of them! I’ve left windows open. They don’t seem to leave. They’re not multiplying either. So doesn’t seem to be somethinf that will cause an infestation but they are SO annoying. It seems like the same 2-3 all the time. How can I get rid of them?

It doesn't matter how clean you keep your house, you open a door an it's like a radar goes off to every fly within a mile, I bleach mine regularly an still get the pests, unless you get those window an door nets then either a fly zapper or fly killer is your best option unfortunately, I have those annoying fruit flys that I can't seem to get rid of right now an the house has just been cleaned down with bleach

 

[JoeBloggs]

Thank you. I know it's definitely not council but I'm unsure whether it's via a private landlord or an agent! So annoying!

You could get the landlords details from Land registry and write to them, anonymously if you wanted too.

 

[Justhereforthebantslll]

Just hoping someone can help.
One of my cats is point blank refusing to use her little tray. She’s an indoor cat. I’ve changed the litter and all that jazz. However she tends to be just going wherever. There is no medical reason for this as I have taken her for a check over. However just over two weeks ago, she lost her kitty companion. I rehomed them off someone else and they were together with her. She is very much a heartbroken cat at the moment. Not leaving the room where her kitty companion was found. She comes down for some food every so often and then heads back up there. Any advice/hints/tips would be appreciated

 

[Snippysnips]

Neighbours on both sides have cats. My cat doesn't like anyone in our garden.

My cat and the one on the right have never got on and they do fight. Next doors cat however has started coming over to our garden a lot more sitting in my cat's favourite flowerpot. She usually gets chased off by my cat or we bring our cat inside when we hear them hissing at each other/ see their both outside at the same time. Yesterday the garden door had been left open and the other cat came inside into our house.

How can we stop her coming over? Tired of my cat being covered in scratches, I don't want to stop my cat going out into our garden either.

Do you prefer your cat to be kept to the garden? An is your garden fenced?

I don't have cats, but I do have guinea pigs an a new rabbit, I also have a ton of wild birds come into the garden so to keep them all safe I have those spikes for the top of the fence, you can get like rubber ones, then along the bottom it's all mesh fence since there's a gap between my fence an the ground, keeps my neighbours cat from getting into the garden

Also you might not know this, but if your cat ever needs veterinary treatment an it's because the neighbours cat has come in, then you are entitled to have the neighbour pay because technically it was trespassing on your property, I know of people who's cats an dogs have went onto another's property an hurt their animal be told they need to pay the vet bill that their animal has caused

 

[Poppetta83]

I’ve always poured boiling water from the kettle into the candle and let it cool. The wax then comes away and floats to the top. You might have to do it a couple of times and also break it up to get it out the out the holder.

 

[Ticketyboots]

Sorry but pretty much, no one will see you that early on. It depends on the kind of miscarriage how and when your hormone is affected so they (at least in my trust) won’t do the test themselves anymore but just ask you to do a home pregnancy test. They basically won’t see you at EPU at 4-5 weeks, if you think you are miscarrying they ask you to take a test and if positive test again after two weeks, if still positive they will see you (assuming there have been no excessive bleeding or pain on the meantime).
This was as of 2 months ago.

Sorry you went through that. That was my own experience back in 2014 so sounds like it's no longer done. Awful situation.

 

[BettyCrockerr]

New carpet before or after painting/decorating the room?

After. Carpet should always be the last thing done before furniture goes back in