INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The loud noise of fireworks, the flashing lights, and the smell of sulfur are what scare pets most. Contact your local municipality to find out when your area is likely to have fireworks. Check that your pets' ID tags and microchips are up to date. Mark the calendar when renewal payments are due and be sure to make payments on time. If your pet runs away during firework events, it's much easier to be identified as its owner through a microchip. Mark the dates on a calendar so that you can keep track of when to ensure your pets are cared for. Desensitization of loud noises can help to prevent your pet from getting scared during the fireworks. Start by playing soft music or fireworks sounds for your pet a few weeks before the fireworks. Then, gradually increase the sound of the music or fireworks each day until you are playing it at a loud volume. Offer petting, praise, and treats to your pet for keeping calm. Playing loud noises after the fireworks can help to desensitize it further, by showing it that what it just experienced is not scary. Keeping the lights on will calm your pet and make it feel more secure. Close the curtains in the room and, if your animal is in a cage, cover up the cage with a thick blanket, which will hide it from flashing lights and dampen loud noises. In a stable, keep the lights on and keep the doors locked, although sedatives are the best method to calm your outdoor farm animals. Use familiar sounds to drown out the noise of the fireworks. Classical music, the sound of rain, or the sound of the TV, are some common noises that can soothe your pet. This will allow your pets somewhere safe that they can retreat to during the fireworks to feel safe. Try placing a heavy blanket over a crate or pet carrier, or lay a box on its side and place a folded up blanket or towel inside of it. A room that has no windows located in the middle of your home is ideal, as it naturally dampens outside noises. It should be a room you can close off to stop your pet from running about the house and creating a mess. Make sure your outdoor animals are locked in their pen and consider moving them to a more central pen in your barn or stable to keep them away from doors and windows. If you have more than one pet, be sure they don't mind being confined in the same room, or select several rooms for different pets. For example, dogs and cats will usually appreciate being separated. If you must separate animals, make a second room as insulated as you can and keep the most anxious animal in the central room, and stay with and comfort the animal in the second room. You can purchase calming pheromone products for cats and dogs. Using pheromones during a stressful event, such as fireworks, may help to keep your pet calm. However, you'll need to start using it a couple of weeks in advance. Look for a dog appeasing pheromone product if you have a dog, or a cat-specific pheromone if you have a cat, such as Feliway. These products are available as plug-in diffusers that you can purchase in pet stores and online. Consult your vet a few weeks ahead of time to see if your dog may need a sedative during the fireworks, as some dogs are particularly noise-sensitive or anxiety-prone. Horses and farm animals that are kept outside particularly may need this to make it through without getting scared. You can also ask your dog's veterinarian about Sileo, which is an anti-anxiety drug for dogs. You administer this medication between your dog's gums and cheek using a needleless syringe.

SUMMARY: Know when and where fireworks will be happening. Expose your pet to loud noises and firework sounds gradually. Turn the lights on and try to insulate the house as best you can. Provide a hiding place for your pets. Find a central room away from windows to contain your pets. Try using pheromones to reassure and comfort your pets. Consider veterinary sedation for large animals or easily scared animals.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you experience stomach pain after eating, then the foods that you are eating may be to blame. One way that you can begin to cure stomach pain is to keep track of the foods that you eat and how they make you feel. Over time, you should begin to notice that certain foods cause stomach pain more than others, while some cause no pain at all. Adjust your eating habits to eliminate these causes of stomach pain. For example, if you notice that you get stomach pain after eating spaghetti and meatballs with pasta sauce, then that food may be causing your stomach pain. To determine if the sauce, pasta, or meatballs are causing your stomach pain, try eliminating one component each day. For example, you can eat just spaghetti and meatballs without sauce the following day and if you do not have stomach pain, then you will know that it was the sauce that caused the pain. You may also cure your stomach pain by eliminating some of the most common causes of stomach pain from your diet. Common problem foods to avoid include: Caffeinated drinks, such as coffee, black tea, and lattes Fatty foods, such as French fries, cookies, and pastries Carbonated drinks Acidic foods, such as pasta sauce and orange juice Alcohol Pasta Full-fat dairy products Keeping yourself well hydrated is another good way to start curing your stomach pain. Water helps your body digest your food and it also helps to reduce stomach acid. Most adults should drink about eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. Try adding a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a cup of water. Apple cider vinegar can help to neutralize stomach acid, which may also help to cure your stomach pain. Consuming a high-fiber diet is essential for good health, but it may also help with your stomach pain as well. Fiber keeps food moving through your system, so it may prevent you from becoming constipated. Try to eat an apple every day. Apples are a good source of fiber and they also contain pectin, which can help to neutralize acid.

SUMMARY:
Identify problem foods. Steer clear of common problem foods. Drink plenty of water. Eat more fiber-rich foods.