Cramps

Have you ever turned over in the middle of the night and suddenly felt a painful cramp in your leg?Night cramps can strike almost anyone; particularly susceptible are those who have spent the day exercising strenuously or those who have engaged in some unusual outdoor activity such as hiking or cycling.Their most common cause is an exaggeration of a normal body reflex. When you turn during sleep, the tendons attached to your muscles stretch. Then the muscle contracts. If it stays contracted, you'll have a painful cramp.

Howard County's 19th-century courthouse has seen a 40 percent increase in jury trials in the past year, causing court officials to clamor for a new facility. "Our county is growing, our population is growing, and that means more case filing," said Administrative Judge Lenore R. Gelfman. "The demands have been significant for a while. " Gelfman, County State's Attorney Dario J. Broccolino and Sheriff James F. Fitzgerald told the County Council last week that the increase is too much for the 170-year-old Ellicott City courthouse, which is cramped and outdated.

Q**My daughter had painless menstrual periods for about a year and a half. The last few times she has had bad cramps. Why is this starting? Is there any medicine she can take?A**During the first one to two years after a teen-ager begins to menstruate, she infrequently ovulates (produces the egg) during each cycle.When she begins to ovulate regularly, her body also produces chemicals called prostaglandins. These cause contractions of the muscles in the uterus, which lead to decreased blood flow and pain.

Baltimore prosecutors might soon be packing up and leaving their cramped digs in the city's 112-year-old courthouse for a newer downtown office building. A plan being pushed by leaders in Baltimore and Annapolis would provide up to $1 million for the Baltimore state's attorney's office to rent space a few blocks from the courthouse, moving about 200 lawyers and support staff into their own quarters for the first time since the city courthouse opened in January 1900. State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein pitched the idea Friday to lawmakers in Annapolis, saying that the current configuration contributes to inefficiencies and poses public safety problems.

I have horrible hand cramps, which can occur at almost any time. Nothing my doctor hasprescribed has helped. Is there a home remedy I can try? You may laugh at this suggestion. There is absolutely no scientific evidence that it might help. Nevertheless, we have heard from several readers that holding an unwrapped bar of soap in the hand may help with this kind of pain. One reader told us that her husband complained about cramps in his hands after playing cards. She says she "got a bar of soap and put it in his hand.

McDonogh's Alex Sidney lay on his stomach near the net, writhing in pain from cramps that attacked both of his legs and rendered them useless. He was playing a tiebreaker in the final set of a championship match and didn't want it to end like this. Michael Katz of Gilman stood quietly at the net and could barely look at Sidney. The two are close friends who play tennis together frequently, and Katz didn't want the match to end like this either. But Sidney couldn't get up and had to retire, giving Katz the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference No. 1 singles title, 7-5, 4-6, 6-6 (ret.

There was no consistent or significant spike in Brian Matusz's velocity, but for five innings Saturday afternoon, the young left-hander made enough quality pitches to provide encouragement for a team desperately in need of it. But any good sentiment was gone by the time Matusz limped off the mound in the sixth inning, two batters after Washington Nationals first baseman Michael Morse broke a tie by driving an 87 mph fastball into the home bullpen...

My mum lives in New Zealand and would love to visit us, but she is petrified that her nitroglycerin heart medicine will set off the security alarm. Is there any way to reassure her? If her luggage is screened with a swab to detect explosives, residue from her nitroglycerin medicine might be detected. Nitrates in her medication are similar to those found in explosives. If she has her prescription and a note from her doctor with her, the Transportation Security Administration authorities shouldn't give her any grief.

A friend burned her hand on a very hot pan handle. I grabbed the soy sauce and had her soak her hand in it after she ran the burn under cold water. She reported relief, and the next day she was fine. I was really worried it would blister. She smelled like marinade, but that's a small price. Thanks for sharing your success with soy sauce. We heard about this home remedy for burns from an Oregonian listener to our radio show. On my last visit to the dentist, our hygienist recommended we chew gum containing xylitol.

A local rivalry known for bizarre plays and crazy finishes played to its reputation yesterday. Towson University, which usually wins these affairs, beat Morgan State again, but barely. The Tigers waded through high-snap misadventures, a two-interception game from quarterback Sean Schaefer, and a depleting run of cramps before escaping Hughes Stadium with a 28-21 victory. Towson@Massachusetts Saturday, noon, 1570 AM

For the first time this season, the sixth-ranked Maryland women's basketball team was not able to relax and empty its bench late in the second half. The Terrapins instead were facing potentially their first loss Wednesday night after pesky Michigan got within a point in the final six minutes of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Making matters worse was having leading scorer Alyssa Thomas on the bench nursing a cramp down the stretch, but Maryland never wilted, getting a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Laurin Mincy to trigger a decisive run of nine consecutive points on the way to a 74-65 victory before an announced 4,013 at Comcast Center.

Maryland's got a very painful leg cramp, and needs some medicine to fix it. This sort of cramp is called "growth," the medication is called PlanMaryland, and we need to take it now. Growth is something every state, municipality and community has to deal with. It can be a painful throbbing like a leg cramp that wakes you in the middle of the night. You get up to walk it off, but sometimes it only gets worse. Maryland has the good fortune - although some would call it a malady - of being a desirable place to live and locate a business.

There was no consistent or significant spike in Brian Matusz's velocity, but for five innings Saturday afternoon, the young left-hander made enough quality pitches to provide encouragement for a team desperately in need of it. But any good sentiment was gone by the time Matusz limped off the mound in the sixth inning, two batters after Washington Nationals first baseman Michael Morse broke a tie by driving an 87 mph fastball into the home bullpen...

Fabian Washington's surgically repaired left knee does not appear to be a hindrance, and the cornerback has the scars to prove it. Speaking after Tuesday morning's practice, Washington had a few gash marks in the shin area just below the knee as a result of covering wide receiver Anquan Boldin. Washington, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee Nov. 22, was activated off the team's physically-unable-to-perform list Thursday, but had practiced with a red noncontact mesh over his jersey until Sunday afternoon.

Jameel McClain can only hope that opposing offenses fail to account for him the way the media did this past offseason. While much of the focus for the starting inside linebacker position was on Tavares Gooden and Dannell Ellerbe, McClain opened Ravens training camp at McDaniel College in Westminster by lining up next to 11-time Pro Bowler Ray Lewis on the first defense. McClain, entering his third season since being signed as an undrafted rookie in 2008, conceded that he was somewhat surprised at his inclusion with the starting unit.

Originally expected to be activated Monday, outfielder Felix Pie asked the club if he can extend his rehab assignment at Double-A Bowie for one more day, meaning he won't be back in the Orioles' lineup until Tuesday night's game in Detroit. Pie's return figured to send the current starter in left field, Corey Patterson, back to the bench and the fourth outfielder's role. But interim manager Juan Samuel said Sunday that Patterson will remain in the lineup at designated hitter, a switch that is possible with Luke Scott now on the disabled list.

I have enjoyed reading about home remedies on your Web site and would like to share mine. Dip a bleeding (cut, nicked, sliced or whatever) finger in ground coffee and the bleeding stops. If, after the first dip, it still shows some blood, dip it in again and bandage it. A Lebanese friend told me that it is used all the time in his home. Maybe it's the caffeine. Regardless, it has always worked for me. Thanks for surprising us with a brand-new home remedy for minor cuts. We have collected several others, including ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and ground sage.

In the past four months or so, my blood pressure has been climbing despite my daily dose of the blood pressure medicine lisinopril. In the past month, I began to feel short of breath and weak, my ankles swelled, and I craved bananas. My doctor started me on furosemide, Pravachol and atenolol, to no avail. My blood pressure yesterday afternoon while resting was 213/91, and today it was 193/93. I was afraid I would go into kidney failure or have a heart attack. This afternoon, your book (The People's Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies)

McDonogh's Alex Sidney lay on his stomach near the net, writhing in pain from cramps that attacked both of his legs and rendered them useless. He was playing a tiebreaker in the final set of a championship match and didn't want it to end like this. Michael Katz of Gilman stood quietly at the net and could barely look at Sidney. The two are close friends who play tennis together frequently, and Katz didn't want the match to end like this either. But Sidney couldn't get up and had to retire, giving Katz the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference No. 1 singles title, 7-5, 4-6, 6-6 (ret.

Question: : You recently wrote about rubbing a cut onion on a bee sting to ease the pain. Swiss farmers have practiced this for centuries. In 1949, when I was stung by a bee right near the kneecap and was hurting badly, my farmer grandmother gave me a freshly cut onion and told me to rub it on the sting site for five minutes. After that, I could not even feel the sting or any pain anymore. I have used this remedy many times since. Answer: : Thanks for this historical perspective. Onion contains compounds that can break down the proteins in bee venom.