Place the skin covered in tar under cold, running water. For larger areas of the skin, take a cold shower. Keep the tarred skin in or under the water for at least 20 minutes. This can stop the tar from burning your skin while you determine if you need immediate medical attention or can remove the tar at home. Avoid using very cold water or ice on the tar until you determine your course of action. Although rare, tar can burn your skin and damage the skin underneath it. Seeing a doctor can ensure proper treatment of burns or other skin damage due to tar, minimize your pain and discomfort, and help your skin heal optimally. Seek immediate medical attention if:  the tar is hot even after running cool water over it the tar feels like it is burning you the tar covers a large area of skin or your body the tar is near or in your eyes Take off any clothing or fabric that covers the tarred skin. This can further dissipate heat and minimize burning, damage, or other discomfort. Avoid pulling off clothing or other items that have stuck to the skin to prevent further damage. If you cannot remove the clothing, seek prompt medical attention. Keep your fingers from picking at the tar until it cools completely on your skin. Allowing the tar to cool fully before you remove it can minimize the risk of damage to the skin underneath and ensure that it heals properly.

Summary: Run cold water over the tar immediately. Seek immediate medical attention. Remove clothing or jewelry from affected skin. Avoid picking at the tar.


If you're struggling to feel comfortable in new social situations, learn ways to relax yourself. Meditation and exercises like yoga and tai chi are techniques you can use to calm down and prepare yourself to face your challenges calmly.  If you carry tension in your muscles, tighten your whole body for three seconds (including your hands, feet, jaw, neck, etc.), then release. Do this two more times and feel the tension leave your body. Learn to recognize your body overreacting to feelings of anxiety and immediately practice calming yourself in those situations. People who suffer from social anxiety often find themselves in situations where their panic gets the better of them and they have difficulty breathing. In this situation, one of the best ways to regain control and calm your mind is just to focus on your breathing.  Inhale deeply through the nose for six seconds. Feel the breath moving down through your chest, into the pit of your stomach. As you breathe focus solely on the movement of air in and out of your body. Exhale slowly through your mouth for another six seconds. Repeat this exercise until you begin to feel calm again. Recite a comforting prayer, line of poetry, or famous quotation, something that inspires you and that you can return to when feeling anxious. Find a song that inspires confidence you can listen to as you drive to a social gathering or before a big presentation. Even something as simple as "I can do this" will help you center yourself and feel confident. Stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine can increase anxiety symptoms. Alcohol can also trigger anxiety attacks, so be careful when drinking. Know the difference between drinking to calm nerves and drinking in excess.

Summary: Practice relaxation techniques. Use breathing techniques. Pick a mantra or a "pump-up" song. Change your diet.


Pollen counts typically peak in the mornings, so it’s best to remain indoors between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. On windy days, pollen is blown about the air, so it’s also a good idea to avoid going outdoors when it’s windy. Make sure to keep your windows shut and limit how often you open doors. This will help limit the amount of pollen which enters your home.  You can track the pollen counts in your area by contacting the National Allergy Bureau. Typically, local news and weather stations also post current pollen counts. Avoid exercising outside. Try to avoid letting pets out for long periods of time when allergens are high, as they can carry pollen in their fur. It might not be fashionable, but a mask will filter out some of the pollen and mold that gets kicked up when you’re mowing the lawn or weeding the garden. It’s also a good idea to wear a mask when you’re out and about on days with high pollen counts during peak season. If you can avoid it, don’t do yard work in the morning. It’s tempting to roll the windows down to feel the breeze on a car ride, but during peak season, that breeze is loaded with allergens. Instead, run the air conditioning to keep temperatures at a comfortable level. This will prevent most of the pollen, dust, and mold out from entering your automobile. Be sure to point your air conditioner vents away from your face to avoid irritating your nasal passages and exacerbating your allergies.

Summary: Avoid going outdoors when pollen counts are at their highest. Wear a mask, especially when doing yard work. Keep your car windows up when you’re driving.


Fun quizzes and tests can be a great way to do something a little bit different in the classroom, while still learning and teaching. To make the whole exercise a success, it's important that you don't overlook the evaluation and debriefing at the end of the test. This helps the students to appreciate the purpose of the game and what they learned. You can start this by recapping some of the key points covered in test and writing them on the board. You might like to try grading the tests either in small groups or as a class. If you have done the quiz in small groups in class you can swap answers with another group, so that each team marks another team's test. If different groups have different answers to a question, you can use this as an opportunity to discuss it as a class.  Discussing the question in detail with the different answer will enable you to help make sure that everyone understands which answer was correct and why. Encourage the group that got the question wrong to talk together to explain where they went wrong.  This can operate as a kind of simple peer assessment, where students mark each other's work. This can be very positive, but you should make sure everyone stays friendly and nobody is singled out. If you are doing a fast-paced quiz in class, you can make grading part of the game. If you have given your students buzzers or bells to answer questions, you can write up the scores on the board and update them after each question. This will make it more like a quiz show.  You could have a simple tally chart on the board, or you could have something more creative. Each correct score could reveal a letter or part of a picture that the teams have to uncover to win. It might be a fun test at the end of the term to revise some key material while letting off a bit of steam, or it could be a more serious test that counts towards the overall grade. Whichever way you choose to do the test, make sure that you are clear about it.
Summary: Debrief and evaluate the tests. Grade them as a group. Make grading part of the game. Ensure the students understand what credit is attached to the test.