It’s always nice to get some mail, whether it be tangible in our mailbox at the end of the driveway or e-mails readable on our computer. When e-mails first became popular, most of them were just to keep in touch, but lately most of my e-mails come with attachments, some of which are very informative and some of which are pretty ridiculous. The ones that ask me to forward them to a number of people in order to have “good luck if you do and bad luck if you don’t” remind me of the old chain letters that used to circulate and I ignore them.

An e-mail I got recently reinforced my decision to think twice before forwarding. It claimed Snopes.com warns people that e-mails that ask for forwarding almost always have an e-mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and e-mails of those folks you forward to, which only benefits telemarketers and spammers.

Another warning is not to add your name and e-mail address to listings that sound like you’re supporting a great cause but actually are not.

All they’re doing is helping the spammers get rich. “E-mail petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other organization. To be acceptable, petitions must have a signed signature and full address of the person signing the petition.” A worthwhile e-mail I got from a neighbor who is a nurse taught me that female heart attacks are usually different than male heart attacks, in that “women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms like sudden stabbing pain in the chest, cold sweat and dropping to the floor.” One woman who was just sitting in her recliner said she felt an awful sensation of indigestion, followed by a sensation of little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up her spine and under her sternum. The process continued on into her throat and branched out into both jaws. That made her remember how she had often read or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI (myocardial infarction) and the woman said aloud to herself “Dear God, I think I’m having a heart attack!”

She dialed paramedics. She didn’t remember the medics coming in or getting her into an ambulance and taking her to the ER. In a few minutes they threaded a tiny angiogram balloon up her femoral artery into the aorta and into her heart where they installed two stints to hold open her blocked right coronary artery.

The woman said she wrote about the details because she wanted everyone to know what she learned first-hand.

Another e-mail tip: Recognizing signs of a blood clot/stroke is also an important thing to know. Getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and getting medically cared for within three hours can save a life. See if a possible victim can do four things: smile, talk (speak a simple sentence), raise both arms, stick out his/her tongue (if the tongue is crooked or goes to one side or the other, that could be an indication of a stroke.) If the person has trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. Remember the letters STRT.

Tick removal was the topic in another e-mail I received. It said a good way to remove a tick is to “apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball and let it stay on the repulsive insect for 15-20 seconds, after which the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away.”

One of the less serious e-mails I received had to do with a new wine for seniors. Most of us have heard of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio, but the new wine would reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night. It would be marketed as Pino More. (LOL)