How to get long term health benefit from Asthma?

March 2, 2010

Asthma is a chronic condition which is controllable and treatable but isn’t curable. Sufferers often describe their asthmatic attack as a metal band squeezing their chest. Traditional model of patient care management doesn’t work for complicated chronic problems like asthma. A more creative way of management is to provide a disease manager or asthma coach who can help children and adults with asthma through their treatment plans.
 
Millions of Americans suffer from Asthma. Unfortunately, both children and adults don’t get the right treatment at the right time. Asthma coaches are the best option and most of them are employed by insurance companies and health plan agencies to help decrease their costs. An asthma coach regularly reviews a patient’s history to ensure right medications are prescribed and given. They coordinate with the doctor for follow ups and stay in touch with patient’s families to monitor the progress.
 
If you are an asthma sufferer, seek long term health benefits by availing help from an asthma coach now. An asthma coach is your ultimate guide to a healthy and normal life.

Asthma and Physical Activity at School

August 17, 2009

Physical fitness is an important goal for all students, whether they are asthmatic or non-asthmatic. Approximately one in every 15 student today has asthma. These numbers are significantly higher than those 20 years ago. Asthma is a condition where the bronchioles and alveoli (air sacs) in lungs constrict preventing the release of air. Asthma and physical activity at school go hand in hand with proper planning and management.

Partnership between students, teachers, parents, coaches, doctors, and physical education teachers to manage and control asthma increases the student’s chance of remaining active. Part of that partnership is the asthma management plan. That plan recognizes the triggers or factors that make a student’s asthma worse or causes an episode.

Students with asthma are more successful in remaining physically active when a management plan is used. The management plan should include the medical history of the students, their individual symptoms, how to contact parents, health care providers, normal peak flow numbers and medications duly signed by the parent/guardian and student. The plan should make the student get more involved in the development because with student’s participation, they will be more liable to follow the plan.

Healthy Snacks Your Kids Will Love

June 27, 2009

Getting your kids to eat healthy foods can be a challenge sometimes, but one that you must overcome to protect child health over the long term.  So how can you encourage your kids to eat healthily?  Kids want to have fun, they need stimulation in things that they do so that you can capture their attention.  Food that they eat need to be presented in a way so that even meal time can be play time for them as well.  They don’t care about vitamins and minerals and carbohydrates, what they want food they can relate to.

To introduce food to a child, you need to think like a child.  A little imagination in this case would go a long way.  If you want your child to eat fruit, don’t just slice and dice away and put them in a bowl.  A little creativity and imagination might entice your little one to eat more heartily with lesser encouragement.  Instead of offering a simple bowl of fruit, ask your child if he wants The Happy Face Snack.  You cut up some bananas, oranges, pineapple, strawberry and apples, the colourful the offering, the better.  You can arrange the fruit in a plate to look like a happy face.

You can take this further as he becomes familiar with the different shapes and flavours by asking them to make their own Happy Face Snack themselves, or you can ask them to make one according to their own interest, be it sports, outer space, nature, you and your child’s imagination is the limit.

Teach Your Kids to Avoid Swine Flu

June 16, 2009

School is a place of learning and fun for your children, but the current times has made it a melting pot of diseases.  With swine flu practically in everybody’s doorstep, we should take extra vigilance in keeping our child’s health a priority.  This highly communicable disease is spread person-to-person and can easily infect a large population such as our children that go to school.

Although some schools has taken the initiative to announce the suspension of classes in the event of an infection.   The responsibility still lies with the parents to safeguard their children’s health.  Teaching your kids good personal hygiene practices is one way to prevent infection.  Couple this with instructions on etiquette and you may just win the battle yet against swine flu or with any communicable disease for that matter.  Children should be taught how to properly wash their hands with soap and water and if possible, also, how to use an alcohol based sanitizer.

Prevention is truly better than cure, and arming our children with practical knowledge that they will be using for their whole lives is one way to help safeguard their health.

Bringing Home the Baby

May 17, 2009

The long nine months of wait is finally over and here comes the new person and the latest addition to the family.  Giving birth to your new child enables you to give him all the love and support you can possibly give him.  Now you can hold him and stare at his innocent angelic face all you want.

Smothering him with love is easy.  Although the first few days and the following weeks to come will not be without many challenges and frustrations for you and your newborn, the time you spend with him during this time is best time to get to know each other the best.

During this time you will learn what his little grunts and sounds and baby cries mean and you will eventually learn how to soothe your newborn before he breaks out into an ear splitting cry.  First thing to remember is that your newborn will have to be fed every two to three hours.  It is also wise to check frequently on his diapers and change whenever required.  Caring for his stump (from where the umbilical cord used to be) is also required, using 70% alcohol or tincture of iodine solution will be fine in keeping it clean and free from infection.  Be sure to leave it to dry after cleaning.

Most importantly, enjoy all the time with your newborn.  Parenting is one of the most rewarding experience any person can have so enjoy all moments of it.

Sleep and Your Baby

March 19, 2009

There are several things that you can check why your baby may be experiencing troubles sleeping. Some of the more common ones include stomach gas (colic), parasites (intestinal worms), teething, separation anxiety and sensitivity on food. Other external factors like improper beddings, uncomfortable pyjamas, too hot or too cold weather. It is important, and this is for any problem, not just for your baby, to know the root cause of things.

Sleep is very important to your baby, and your baby not sleeping well can be a cause for concern. Babies need at least 16 hours of sleep every day, especially the newborns. It is important not only for their health but also for their development. If your baby is not getting enough sleep, he can be stunted and affect his immune system and render him susceptible to diseases. It is important that he gets as much sleep as he needs.

It may be this early that your baby is showing preferences of his own, he might just want to be cuddled just before you lay him down to sleep or be patted on the back to lull him to sleep. Children usually outgrow these and would sleep on their own. It is this time of discovery for both you and your baby, as your baby grows older and you get to know this new person better, you’ll better understand the things that bother him and be quick in addressing these issues.

Bust Germs & Keep a Healthy Home

February 7, 2009

As parents, we are very protective of our kids. As much as possible, we wouldn’t want our kids catching a nasty cold and have them in discomfort even for a day. With this in mind, we prevent them from touching things that we highly suspects of bacteria and germs. That is only natural for us but the problem is, we may be looking too far out to ever consider that the enemy might be right under our noses.

Most of the time, we overlook things and places around the house since we believe our homes are clean. For example, the kitchen sponge is the common breeding ground for Salmonella and Campylobacter. Same goes for the faucet handles - especially those in the bathroom - they pose as a great catcher of germs.

Do you know that even your innocent-looking shower curtain is on this list? It is home for Sphingomonas and Methylobacterium posing a great risk for individuals with immune deficiency problems. It is also best to examine your bed at this point, especially if you have allergic rhinitis. The real danger behind bacteria and germs is that they viewable to the naked eye - instinctively this tends to instil the attitude of ‘what we can’t see can’t hurt us’. If only that were the case. Stay alert.

 

Benefits of Massage Touch Therapy for Your Baby

January 23, 2009

There are countless benefits of massage therapy for your baby, some of which are medically relevant and some are which probably do nothing more than increase our sense of bonding with our baby. Giving your child an infant massage is truly a rewarding feeling. It is a great bonding experience for both the parent and the baby and studies shows that it is psychologically beneficial for both too. Who doesn’t love cuddling their own baby anyway?

It is said that massage therapy, sometimes called touch therapy, improves blood circulation of the baby. It greatly soothes your baby’s senses providing a feeling of security and alleviating stress. Massage therapy also helps tone muscle and bones, preparing your baby physically for the oncoming path of development. It also provides the parents a way to connect with their little one.

Infant massage instructors prefer using natural oils in performing massage therapy with your baby since the baby’s skin is sensitive and prone to irritation. Natural oil with chamomile products, such as Native Remedies Blissful Baby Aromatic Massage Oil is known to relax the baby while undergoing his massage. For those interested check out this baby massage video for more guidance.

 

Is your Child Hyperactive?

January 13, 2009

Kids are physically active human beings. It is usually the meter, we as parents, read if our kids are healthy. It is the indicator for our doctors if they are doing fine and not experiencing any health problems. Being active is the first question that pops when we visit the kid’s pediatrician. It is, after-all, what’s expected of them.

With this in mind, it will be very hard for us to see signs that we have hyperactive children since we are not generally told to be vigilant of the signs. We wouldn’t know the difference until they reach the age that they are expected to act more consciously to their day-to-day activities such as going to school, performing small tasks and mindful of courtesy to others. It can often be hard to identify hyper-activity or any associated behavioural problems.   

Dealing with an over-active child can be hard and frustrating at times but as parents, we try to make it work and help our kids with high hopes of forming them to the best they can be. It will be best for the child and yourself to seek guidance from a doctor who understands child psychology and how to properly care for them. If you are concerned by medications such as Ritalin then consider an alternative remedy. There are many safe and effective homeopathic & herbal remedies for ADHD out there.

 

Remedies for Colicky Babies

January 4, 2009

Seeing your new born baby cry endlessly through the night is really frustrating. There is no way your baby will tell you what he/she wants and it is completely pointless to ask them. More frustrating is when you get no sleep trying to figure out what went wrong. This is easier if you know your baby’s symptoms or both of you already established good communication skills among each other.

The good news is that there are baby remedies and comforting techniques to aplenty to help you through. Infant massage for example. It helps your baby to feel your presence thus alleviating his pain. Studies have shown that infant massage helps your baby develop stronger bones and helps them walk early in life. Enveloping your baby in your arms to provide heat and feeling of security lessens the stress he is feeling.

Diet is something to seriously consider, remember that colic has something to do with your child’s gastrointestinal tract. Just to be logical about the situation, you may want to examine closely your baby’s food intake. Check the formula, if not breastfeeding and watch over your diet, if he does.

For remedies other than calming your baby, gripe water works as well as homeopathic remedies with chamomile for infant colic. iBaba Colic Formula is an excellent choice also. Both are natural, safe and effective. Natural means no side effects for your child to worry.

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