DANGEROUS AIR BAGS
A recent public warning was issued in Ontario and Quebec on the dangers of REBUILT air bags that were replaced in vehicles in 1998 or later. If you have any vehicle of any year in which the safety air bag was replaced, for any reason, you should immediately take your vehicle to your auto repair shop for inspection and replacement. The faulty air bags were remanufactured by National Sacs Gonflables Inc. of Quebec and the testing on them indicates that they are extremely dangerous. For further information contact the Ontario Ministry of Transportation at (905) 704-2558 or in Quebec at (866) 867-8143.

MORE ON PASSPORTS
The crossing of the US border will be subject to much more scrutiny than in the past. The INS has been given funding to hire up to 30,000 new employees and passports are going to become a much important document in ensuring your simple entry to the U.S. The CSA has long recommended that you carry a passport and, as they often take several weeks to obtain, we recommend that you apply for or renew now. 

DRUG RUNNERS
Every snowbird, really, falls in to this category and there is a lot of confusion on the part of border guards as to the various regulations. A US citizen is limited to bringing back only a 50 DOSE supply of their prescription drugs from a foreign country. With a proper prescription from a US doctor, however, this can be increased to a 90 day SUPPLY. This regulation has nothing to do with Canadians and other visitors, although we have seen it applied in the past.

Canadians are allowed to carry a sufficient (and reasonable) SUPPLY to meet their needs during their entire stay in the U.S. As at this date, this can be defined as enough prescription medication for between six months and one year, providing the following conditions are met:

1: Drugs are for personal use only,
2: You have a valid prescription,
3: All drugs are in their original container,
4: Drugs have been approved by the USFDA (rarely an issue)

As always, we recommend that you answer only those questions you are asked when crossing any border. If the drug question comes up, simply state that you "do have your medication with you". Use the word "medication" and never say "drugs", for obvious reasons. If this leads to further inquiry, it will be important to comply with the above conditions and to help the border guard understand what a visitor can bring on his or her visit to the United States. If real trouble arises ask the border guard to review the regulations, very, very nicely.

FEELING FAINT, POSSIBLE STROKE, OR TIA? SITTING UP IS RIGHT!!!
This one really surprised us! Our instinctive reaction with any illness is to have the "patient" lie down and rest to see if it will pass. Wrong!

Feeling faint or dizzy, or losing feeling in part of the body, is one of the possible symptoms of a stroke or Trans Ishemic Attack (TIA). These symptoms can occur when your brain does not receive enough oxygen. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that "Sitting Up" is the best position to keep oxygen levels as high as possible. If absolutely necessary, lying on your right side is preferable to lying on your left side, again because of increased oxygen levels found in the study.

"Sitting Up" will allow more oxygen to enter the brain and even a small increase in oxygen levels can have a dramatic impact on eventual recovery. Should an ambulance be necessary for me or for someone in my family, under these circumstances, we will certainly be riding in the "Sitting Up" position.