Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Take your rabbit to your veterinarian. Discuss treatment options with your veterinarian. Correct your rabbit's dehydration. Use medication to stimulate gut movement. Relieve your rabbit's abdominal pain. Encourage your rabbit to eat.

Answer: Digestive problems in rabbits can be life threatening. As soon as you suspect a digestive problem in your rabbit, take him to your veterinarian immediately. Your veterinarian will first perform a physical exam of your rabbit. They will then conduct diagnostic tests, depending on what they suspect is causing the digestive problem. If your rabbit has diarrhea, your veterinarian will test the feces to identify the specific organism (e.g., Clostridium). Your veterinarian will take x-rays and/or perform an abdominal ultrasound if they suspect GI stasis or GI obstruction. A GI obstruction can be a life-threatening situation requiring emergency treatment. Being able to visualize your rabbit's belly will help your veterinarian diagnose and treat your rabbit effectively. Treating digestive problems in rabbits typically involves several general treatment strategies, including rehydration, restoring gut movement, and pain control. These treatments are best performed by a veterinarian, at least until the rabbit is well enough for at-home care. Treatment options will vary slightly, depending on the specific digestive problem. Dehydration can cause digestive problems in rabbits, and be a symptom of these problems. To rehydrate your rabbit, your veterinarian will give him fluids. How your veterinarian administers the fluids (e.g., by mouth, under the skin, directly into a vein) will depend on several factors, such as your rabbit's ability to drink on his own and the severity of the dehydration. Rehydrating your rabbit will put more fluid in his digestive system, which will soften digestive contents and allow them to pass through the system more easily. If your rabbit's digestive system isn't moving food through very quickly, or at all, it will need some help getting back to normal. In addition to fluid therapy, your veterinarian may administer medications called prokinetics to encourage the gut to get moving again. Prokinetics are helpful in treating GI stasis, as well as diarrhea caused by overuse of antibiotics. If your rabbit has an obstruction, he should not receive a prokinetic. Prokinetics may take several weeks to restore your rabbit's normal gut motility. Gas buildup (due to GI obstruction or GI stasis) and diarrhea can be very painful for your rabbit. If the pain is severe, your veterinarian will administer pain medication to get the pain under control as quickly as possible. When your rabbit is well enough to go home, your veterinarian may prescribe a pain medication for at-home care. A bad diet (low in indigestible fiber, high in sugar and carbohydrates) is a common cause of digestive problems in rabbits. Your veterinarian will first see if your rabbit can eat a healthy diet on his own. If he cannot, or will not, your veterinarian may try feeding him a high-fiber gruel, such as Oxbow Critical Care, through a syringe.

Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Try to predict how your parents will react. Think of a good time and place to talk. Practice what you will say. Consider what you want and what your parents might want from the conversation.

Answer: If you're delivering bad news, it can help to try to predict the reaction you may receive. Before confessing you lost something, think about how your parents may feel about this. Have a little empathy so you can predict the reaction and figure out the best means to deliver the news. What did you lose? Parents are unlikely to be angered by the loss of a small item, but if you lost something big and expensive, they may be angrier. They probably worked hard for the money to pay for a bigger item. They may view the fact you lost it as a form of disrespect or irresponsibility. This is their view, however, and you should still continue to plead your case despite what they may think. Considering how your parents are likely to feel, what's the best way to approach the situation? Think about how you would react in the same situation. How would you prefer the news to be delivered? You want to make sure you don't deliver the news at a bad time. If your parents are very busy on a particular day, they may react with stress if you give them bad news. Pick a time when both of your parents are free and relatively relaxed. This can help them keep their emotions in check. Also, think about place. Where is a good place to deliver the news you lost something? You may want to pick a public place, as this may force your parents to stay calm. They're unlikely to yell at, say, a restaurant. Try telling them over dinner or lunch when you're out. However, if you're nervous, you may feel more comfortable having the discussion at a more private place. It's never easy to tell someone you lost something. As you'll likely be nervous during the conversation, practicing what to say can help. This can prevent you from stumbling over your words while breaking the news to your parents. It may help to write down what you want to say first. You can stand in front of a mirror and rehearse. For example, you can practice saying something like, "Mom, Dad. I wanted to let you know I lost the car keys. I know it's expensive to have them replaced, and I'm sorry." When having any difficult conversation, it's important to have goals. Before sitting down with your parents, think about what you hope to gain by telling them you lost something. Do you simply want your parents to know what happened? If you lost something important, like a phone or credit card, it's important your parents have this news. The item may need replacing. You may also want to apologize and find a solution for the future. If you lost something your parents bought you, they likely want an apology. Think about how you will offer to fix the situation. Offering to replace or pay for the item shows your parents you are ready to deal with the consequences of your own actions.

Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Fill a clean, clear glass full of water. Hold the glass up to the light to see if it looks cloudy. Look for color changes in the water. Smell the water to see if it smells harsh or rotten. Taste the water for bitterness if it looks safe to drink.

Answer:
If you're collecting a sample from the tap, let the water run for at least 1 minute. Then, fill the glass so it's at least of the way full. This is more than enough to spot anything out of the ordinary in a sample. For pools of water, scoop up a sample with the glass. You don't need to sterilize the glass first. Think of the crystal clear water at a beautiful beach. Clean water looks transparent and doesn't have anything floating in it. If you can't see your hand on the other side of the glass, you're probably not going to enjoy drinking that water. Anything floating in the glass could be a sign of bacteria or other problems. Before getting on the phone with your water department, set the glass down and wait for a minute. Sometimes milky water clears up right away. That means the color came from air bubbles, so your water is safe to drink. Hard water is water that has calcium, magnesium, and other minerals in it. The minerals cause the water to look a little cloudy. It is usually safe to drink but can be fixed with a water softener to avoid damage to your plumbing. Treat water with colored particles. For example, brown or orange particles are from rusty pipes while black ones come from rubber. Call a plumber to fix the problem. Even if your water doesn't have anything floating in it, it may still not look completely clear. Discolored water not only looks gross but is a big red flag. These colors also turn up as stains on your dishes, clothing, bathtub, and other places. Use the strange coloring to figure out the source of the contamination before paying for a more comprehensive purity test. For instance, brown water is a very common problem. The contamination comes from dirt and other sediments, which you might see settle at the bottom of the glass. Red and orange colors come from rusty pipes. Black could mean you have lead in the water, a very toxic metal that also often comes from pipes. Green usually means algae grew in your water supply, so don't drink it. If it has a blue-green coloring, it could be copper instead. A black stain could also mean mold. If the water smells bad, play it safe by assuming that it is going to be unsafe to drink. Sometimes water has that distinct rotten egg smell of sulfur, which comes from bacteria in the water. Other times, it could have the smell of a swimming pool because of chlorine contamination. If your water smells like nail polish or varnish, that could mean that some chemical leaked into the water supply. It might be from a home improvement project, for instance. Purify water by filtering and boiling it to remove contaminants. If you're using municipal water, call your city or utility company. Contact your local government for more information. If you don't see anything unusual about the water, taste a little bit of it with the tip of your tongue. You can usually detect polluted water right away. Bitterness often means metal in the water, so order a more complete water test as you look for problems. If you detect salt instead and live near the sea, seawater could be leaking into your plumbing. Clean water has a flat, bland taste. If your sample tastes metallic or like a fizzy soda, don't risk drinking it. Keep in mind that you can't always taste water quality issues. Things like bacteria and pesticides may not be easy to detect. Normally you can tell by looking at the water, but double-check with a lab test if necessary.