Anna66

That must be really painful! I hope your family feel better soon. I cannot believe the doctors are waiting for improvement. Have they at least been given any medicine? Antibiotics etc?

   

Sia!!      

  Yep, but normally we get it from our food. Sadly as Germany has virtually no iodine in the soil it does not go into our vegetables or milk (from when cows eat the grass) so iodised salt is a must. However, (as Fraufruit said above) and I also have noticed 50% of people seem to have to take thyroxine/levothyoroxine. More likely to be from Chernobyl and Fukoshima... but that is off topic   Interesting read this article.   https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/VMNIS_Iodine_deficiency_in_Europe.pdf    

  I take levothyroxine. I think 50% of people do as well, seems to be epidemic thyroid issues.

When I first moved to Germany I caught a really nasty ear infection. My ear drum had a hole in it and I went to an ear throat nose doctor who cleaned it out with high pressure water. Blood and pus... the most awful pain ever.   I noticed the wind here is very strong in Spring, and I like to go for long walks.   I make sure I always wear a hat now to protect my ears.   I never had this problem in the UK, but Germany does not have much iodine in the soil. I know that iodine helps protect against infections and thyroid issues. Possibly the wind in the UK had higher amounts of iodine (Just a theory or idea).   Best is always to go to a professional ear nose and throat doctor. First I went to my GP (Hausarzt) who made the problem even worse by inserting a bandage into my ear... Infecting it even more!   I always put hats on my children in winter spring and Autumn to protect their ears. Ear infections are quite common, but I did notice things like gastroentiritus and ear infections are more common in Germany. I never had and stomach infections until I moved here. Maybe it is the climate or the lack of iodine?

"Are people with tattoos stupid?"   In my opinion no. I know alot of people who have tattoos and it depends on the individual. I have seen some really beautiful tatoos in my lifetime, some I would consider works of art. Thing is, nowadays it is almost normal to have one and is becoming different not to have any tattoos or piercings.       Post some pictures of the pictish tattoos. I really love tribal tattoos as well.   As for the IQ levels dropping, I notice that every year myself due to the ageing process.

  Absolutely!        

I love Sia! She really is the greatest!      

  This really seems to be the case. I live down south and had a friend move up to Berlin as it provided superior child care services compared to West Germany. She also managed to retrain and get a new job despite being in her early 40s.   I noticed a huge difference in cultural norms between East and West Germany. Most of my German female friends are from the east as sadly quite alot of west germans judge you, especially if you are a working mother. They even have a nasty label "Rabenmutter" Raven mother. Even after so many years of reunification this cultural norm seems to be in place.    

   

Kylie!     And this remix is pretty good!     She is soooo cute      

Another update. Very tragic.   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6883891/Ethiopian-Airlines-Boeing-737-sensor-damaged-foreign-object-takeoff.html   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/doomed-ethiopian-airlines-boeing-737-max-that-crashed-and-killed-157-people-had-its-angle-of-attack-sensor-damaged-during-takeoff-from-a-foreign-object-or-bird/ar-BBVBgQN?li=AAggbRN    

     

Latest update.   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6863667/Investigators-believe-anti-stall-activated-Ethiophia-crash-WSJ.html