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Archive for the ‘Illness’ Category

If you’ve ever taken travel nurse jobs that had you working around children, you know that a variety of illnesses afflict babies and kids each year. Of course, that’s something every mom knows all too well. One of the most irritating childhood irritation, literally, is allergic conjunctivitis. Scores of school-aged children suffer from conjunctivitis. Usually, the disease does not bring about lasting harmful effects, and causes mild to major irritation of the conjunctiva, which is a part of the eye. Eyes turn red and itch constantly. Most children cannot help but rub their eyes, which results in further irritation. Worst of all, this is a highly infectious disease; so if someone in your child’s class has conjunctivitis, your child is probably going to get it too. You know how hard it is to watch a child suffering from allergic conjunctivitis. You wish you could just take away the itching and irritation as quickly as possible.

Vistakon Pharmaceutical has produced a drug known as Lastacaft. It has gained FDA approval. It is an ophthalmic solution containing alcaftadine, which is an important histamine receptor inhibitor. It functions to reduce itchiness in patients suffering from conjunctivitis. This is truly a wonder drug for people afflicted with this disease, especially children. Because rubbing your itchy eyes enhances the disease, this drug will make the eyes less itchy and therefore will reduce the desire to rub the eyes.

Whether you’re a mother or a nurse, you can happily offer children with conjunctivitis a great cure for their itchiness. Simply use the Lastacaft by applying it to the eyes, and the itchy sensation will subside. This drug will provide relief for young, school-aged children all over the world who find themselves with a case of conjunctivitis.

It’s happening again: you’re shifting against the sheets, curling tight and then stretching out. You struggle for an angle that will please but find only frustration. The bed seems too hard; the pillow seems too shallow; and the air has gone stale with desperation. You can’t sleep. You try all the little tricks you remember from youth (pacing the floor, reading a book, drinking the horror that is warm milk) but they fail. And the hours slip slowly on, leading you finally into morning.

It’s going to be a long day.

This scenario is unfortunately common. The stress of ordinary obligations will force most individuals to experience nights of poor rest and long minutes. Just because this is suffered by the majority, however, does not mean you should simply accept it.

A loss of sleep is no less dangerous because it’s easily recognized. It’s instead an illness that can interfere with every aspect of your life. Without a (minimal) of seven solid hours, you will see a decrease in alertness and memory, an increase in stress and a heightened chance of injury. Your body will not function correctly; and these issues will feed into each other, creating a myriad of problems.

This is why it’s vital for you to discover the reasons for your lack of sleep. While the occasional rough-night is not of great concern, a repeating pattern is. If each week finds you restless, then you must make a change:

1. Determine stressors. Your family situation, your career: these can stir your thoughts and leave you unable to do more than think. Resolve the issues as quickly as possible to undo their damage.

2. Change habits. A too late meal, scrambling to finish assignments: allowing yourself distractions in the evening can force your body awake. Allow yourself to move gradually toward sleep, rather than simply declaring yourself ready.

3. Consult your doctor. If symptoms persist, then you must seek help. Don’t dismiss this as ordinary. The risks are high and the problem may be linked to other illnesses.

You must sleep but you first must learn how to sleep well.

While it’s true that many children have an aversion towards vegetables, you do not have to be resigned in thinking that there are no other options. Reintroducing nutritional education for all learning levels can be fun and interactive. Making vegetables more palatable is not difficult either. Sneaking vegetables into other foods is a great supplemental (or last!) resort.
Most babies love pureed peas, smashed carrots, and sweet potatoes, so why don’t most tots and older children? Some argue that children simply lose the taste for them, especially if they are at all bitter. Others say that pop culture and peer influence plays a huge role. When children see other children or their favorite television characters shunning veggies, they mimic the behavior. When the cool kids are only eating grilled cheese sandwiches, pepperoni pizza, and processed chicken nuggets, they act in turn. After a steady diet of processed meats, sugars, salts, and starches, they are likely to lose their taste for the subtlety, freshness, and sweetness that is inherent in fresh produce.
Most children love hands on activities. Gardening is a great skill that is easy and economical to start. Tots will love digging in the dirt and picking fresh veggies that are ready to eat. Older kids love helping to plan and choose which vegetables they want to nurture. When they feel invested in the process, they will easily fall in love with vegetables. Vegetables are also most flavorful when eaten very fresh so they will be exposed to and ingrained with the most positive aspects of vegetables. It’s a great skill and mentality to give your children.
There are other ways to spruce up veggies too. Lightly sautéing them in healthy olive oil with a little bit of salt and pepper makes almost any veggie tasty. Add sweet onions and a little garlic for a tasty dish. Dips are great too. Strawberry yogurt is delicious with fruit and a light ranch dressing is always fun for kids. Dishes like lasagna, spaghetti, and burritos are great ways of hiding extra veggies that kids won’t even see while gobbling them down.

It is extremely unwise to procrastinate emergency or otherwise urgent medical treatment. When faced with a serious injury or disease, the emergency room at your nearest, local hospital is the first place you should head. When dealing with a chronic condition that verges on serious (or even if it is a newer situation too), visiting a doctor quickly should be a top priority. However, many people employ those services very frequently when it is obviously not necessary to do so, at least until some simpler, more accessible, and more economical treatments have been tried. Again, if there is a serious, or persistent situation present, medical care should be sought as quickly as possible.

For very minor burns, there is a treatment recommended by many cooks and restaurant staff that may help you get back on your feet quickly. Applying some salt (and perhaps a tiny amount of water first so the salt will stick) to the burn and then tightly winding it with a band aid has been reported to heal burns quickly without a blister rising. It is best to run the burn under cool water for several minutes first. Salt can also work on itchy ant bites. When the wound is open, use very clean hands to apply salt to it and then wrap it up. The theory is that the salt disinfects the affected area while drawing out the irritating substances.

Pastes made from sugar or honey are great on cuts, particularly ones that are in danger of becoming infected. Sugars and honey have been used world wide as traditional medicines in many different cultures. They also help prevent scarring.

Apple cider vinegar is great when you have been having issues with heartburn. If you have been dealing with a toothache or gum irritation but can’t get into the dentist for a few days, swish 3% hydrogen peroxide. It will help oxygenate the areas that are irritated. Some specialists say to dilute it in half with water while others say undiluted 3% strength is fine. Be sure to check the label as anything stronger could be very dangerous.

In millennia past, there have been all kinds of plagues and pestilence. Mortality rates for human beings were shockingly high by today’s standards. Life expectancy throughout most of history was half of what it is in the modern world within the first world nations. There obviously were many factors in play but what were the most common denominators across the board? Sanitation and the cleanliness of available water were big influences in determining how disease flourished or dwindled throughout a society.

Methods like fermentation were groundbreaking in making hydration available. Particularly in lands that were not always privy to consistent moisture, storing water was essential for survival. But water can easily become dangerously contaminated when not stored properly and in ancient times, knowing how to store it properly was not information that was available. Beer, mead, wine, and other types of alcoholic beverages were made by fermenting sugars derived from grains or fruits and were essential to the survival of some societies, as they had a much longer shelf life than improperly stored water.

Waste management was a major issue as well. During the Industrial Revolution in America, there was much wealth and commerce in the epicenter of American culture at the time, New York City. Because of the massive population growth at the time from immigration, many shoddy tenements popped up with people crammed in from wall to wall. Without any proper system for waste disposal, disease rates skyrocketed and mortality rates went through the barely constructed roofs. When a proper sanitation system was instilled, the disease rates drastically dropped. Obviously, cleanliness was a major issue in preventing illness.

Many people, however, are arguing that we have taken it to an extreme today. Most people know that washing hands after using restroom facilities, before eating and preparing food, and whenever contact with an ill person has taken place increases one’s chances of remaining healthy. But with the rampant use of hand sanitizers by some, the argument is that our immune systems are not getting enough exposure to bacteria to fight infection. Slightly relaxing their standards may sustain optimum health.

It is a commonly held belief that going to sleep and rising at earlier hours are in the best interest of one’s health. For many centuries, people needed to rise and rest with the rhythms of the sun, as very little productivity in the means of labor was possible during the late night hours. As candles and gas lamps became more common, people could read, write, and socialize during the late night hours. Since electricity became commonplace over a century ago, people can do what they need and want to do, when they want to do it, making the night hours newly available to everyday people.

Insomnia is a problem reported by many people and there are just as many theories as to why it is an issue and what its causes are. Some say the stimulation of electronics at work and then using television and the internet at home for relaxation keeps people’s brains from being able to relax enough to sleep. Others believe that modern day stress factors are what keep so many people awake during all hours of the night. For others, medical diagnoses and explanations are given out by the handful. Many people find frustration in not being able to sleep when then want to be able to.

Others argue that it may not be such a stretch to think that we are evolutionarily programmed to sleep in fragments. In caveman days, one had to be alert using animalistic sixth senses to be aware of predators that could attack in the night. It’s been said that we were meant to sleep for perhaps 3-4 hours at a time, get up and hunt or run or fight, and then sleep for a few more hours later on. Many people who take regular afternoon naps say that their creativity, mood, and productivity are greatly heightened. It is possible that we are meant to sleep in multiple cycles. It is also highly probable that one way of sleeping may be perfect for one person while completely inappropriate for another, and that a “one size fits all” mentality is simply antiquated.