8,000+ Incredible Healthcare Photos

It's that time of year. Bug after bug is striking down typically healthy people, moving through families, making friends at social gatherings. One sneezed-on hand touching a doorknob at a public place can share widespread love.

When it comes to the type of illness there's no end to the possibilities. People are suffering from stomach ailments, sore throats, stuffy noses and flu bugs, complete with muscle aches and raging temperatures.

Two of our little grandchildren last week were a mess. Big sister started the fun with every symptom imaginable before her brother ended up with an ear infection and croup. Grandma put herself in the line of fire to go help out their working mom and celebrated at the end of the incubation period that she seemed to have avoided the nasty sickness which had infiltrated their home.
 
The universe, however, had other ideas for me. Nothing too serious, but two days after I felt safe it seems I'm sick. I couldn't avoid the January germs floating around me from unknown sources, and have caught a teeny-tiny, though still miserable, cold. Add to that the issue of spasms that have laid claim to my lower back and I'm feeling just a little less than stellar.

Hubby too is going through some issues, with a torn rotator cuff and old back woes adding insult to injury.  We make quite an attractive pair at the moment.

Health is something people generally take for granted when things are going well. We sail along through carefree painless days, often with no acknowledgement that things can change. When all is well we cruise through the years without any time spent in a doctor's office or in the hospital, feeling so terrific we forget that a regular check-up is a good idea even when nothing appears to be wrong.

There are many alternative options for treating heath issues these days, which will often curtail any unnecessary appointments with a physician too.  Having watched the lives of too many people dictated by the prescription medications they took, I vowed a long time ago to avoid the cycle for as long as possible. This is not to say that medications don't have their purpose; it's just that they will always be a last resort for me.

There's little doubt during this cold and flu season that folks are taking advantage of our healthcare system and everything it has to offer. Doctor's offices are full of sneezing, coughing, fevered folks. Nurses are delivering their special brand of TLC, listening patiently to complaints, and acting as liaison between physician and patient. Pharmacies are filling prescriptions and advising on the best over-the-counter remedies for customer's complaints. 

It seemed timely given the season of viruses and bugs that I share some of the amazing healthcare photos available from iPHOTOS.com

A Collection of Healthcare Photos from iPHOTOS.com

With 5 million and counting royalty-free photos, illustrations and HD video, there is an amazing array of medical photos covering a variety of healthcare practitioners, procedures and practices. This collection is geared primarily to traditional methods.

30 Loveable Valentine's Day Images for Amazing Colouring Fun

With careful, albeit sweeping, strokes the space between the lines fills with colour. In this case — one.

A vibrant blue had been selected to colour everything from the tip of the bunny's tail, to the carrot in its mouth, to the flowers on the ground. This was my granddaughter's project and she is becoming well known in the family for her monochromatic artwork.

Watching children colour is an interesting study. Seeing my favourite four-year-old put crayon to paper during some quality time this past weekend I couldn't help wondering what she saw in what she was creating and why she made the choices she did.  Having her select the palette for the flowers I was working on resulted in yellow stems and brown petals, nothing like anything in the spaces she explores outdoors each summer, yet she had confidently suggested them as the perfect choice in this.

Also, I decided  her approach to colouring rather reflected her personality. Despite her tender age, she takes great pride in doing something well. Which I suspect explains the care, concentration and determination put in to her efforts to stay within the lines. She's a shy, enigmatic sweetheart, who looks at the world around her with an excitement underlined by a degree of caution. I wondered if this trait is reflected in her careful choice of one playful hue. It dawned on me that when it came to a level of risk, she had put it onto my work, rather than her own.

To further develop my theory I looked to her little brother, a charming two-year-old scamp in whom we can already see wit and mischief. When he sits down to colour it's with a burst of energy. He's totally committed to the fun, rather than the result.

Then too, there is their two-year-old cousin, a lively and flamboyant darling, fond of tutus, tiaras and showing off her impressive dimples.  When presented with a colouring book, she will fill it with broad strokes of meticulously chosen multiple shades, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the task.

You might think I'm reading too much into such a simple task. Yet, having recently attended my first paint night my thoughts turned inward as I reflected on how I approached the canvass. There was, just as I am, nothing bold, nothing careless. Every detail was thought out to the extreme; my strokes contained and cautious.  Given my tendency to be hard on myself, I was disappointed that my work wasn't exactly like the example with which we'd been provided. Only later did I remember that this is art — originality is best.

There was no conscious thought at the time about my personality and how it might come through in art. It happened after seeing the results and recognizing that I had painted like I am. It was a natural progression then to notice the same in my grandchildren, apparently.

None of this has any real relevance, of course. It's all just the random thoughts of an introspective person. But, knowing how much children love to colour and keeping in mind that Valentine's Day is on its way, I decided it would be a great focus for today's image collection. Click the link below to find hours of colouring fun for young and young-at-heart.

iCLIPART.com Valentine's Day Colouring Pages