PALLOR (PALENESS)

Pallor can be normal, or a sign of an underlying medical condition. Many children have a fair complexion and look pale, especially in the winter months. Most children look pale when they are unwell. Parents have the best idea of the health of their child. If your child is active, eating well, full of energy, and seems otherwise normal, it is most unlikely that his paleness indicates an underlying serious medical condition.

If, on the other hand, your child is pale and also appears tired, uninterested in eating or is otherwise unwell, you should consult your doctor. After a careful medical history and physical examination, he may order a blood test to see if your child is anaemic or has some other underlying condition.

THALASSAEMIA

Thalassaemia is an inherited disease where there is an abnormality of haemoglobin, that part of the red blood cell which carries oxygen around the body. It is seen much more frequently in certain ethnic groups, especially those from the Mediterranean countries and parts of East Asia.

In its severe form (Thalassaemia Major) the condition, if not treated, causes severe anaemia, growth retardation, and early death due to heart failure. Treatment consists of regular and frequent blood transfusions. In addition, a particular drug is given to mop up the excessive amounts of iron that are the result of the rapid destruction of the faulty red blood cells. With this treatment, children can live essentially normal lives.

There is also a mild form of thalassaemia (Thalassaemia Minor) which leads to a very mild anaemia but usually causes no symptoms at all. It is important for someone to know if they have Thalassaemia Minor: if they marry a partner with the same condition then there is a one in four chance that their children will be affected with Thalassaemia Major. Antenatal diagnosis is now available for this condition.

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Posted by admin on September 11th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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While this is a very uncommon condition (affecting approximately 4 in 100,000 children under the age of 14 years), it is the commonest cancer in childhood. In years gone by, leukaemia was invariably fatal, but now well over half the children afflicted with this condition can expect to be cured.

Cause

The cause of leukaemia is still unknown, despite many years of intensive research all over the world.

Clinical features

The child may present with features of anaemia (pallor, fatigue), easy bruising, pain in the back or legs, or enlarged but painless lymph glands in his neck or other parts of his body. He may be generally unwell, with poor appetite and overall lethargy.

Investigations

A blood test is performed initially, and this establishes the diagnosis, but then a bone marrow aspiration always follows to confirm it. Often other tests are necessary, including X-rays and CT scans.

Treatment

The child is admitted to hospital immediately — this is invariably to one of the major paediatric teaching hospitals. Treatment is highly specialised and the exact regime depends on the type of leukaemia. It includes drugs to kill the leukaemia cells (chemotherapy), as well as other drugs and blood transfusions. Close follow-up is important and takes place according to a carefully designed protocol or plan.

When to see your doctor

Even if your child has any of the symptoms described above, it is unlikely that he has leukaemia. There are many more common and less serious causes of all of these symptoms. Nevertheless, you should consult your doctor if you are worried. He may order a simple blood test to put your mind at ease.

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Posted by admin on September 11th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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BRUISING

Toddlers and school age children forever seem to have bruises, especially on the shins, as a result of their everyday activities. Their high energy levels and ceaseless activity mean that they often bump into things or fall over, thus bruising various parts of their body. Children with poor co-ordination may have more than their fair share of bruises. Bruises are usually just a normal part of childhood and are no cause for concern.

In very rare cases, bruising is due to an underlying blood disorder, such as a deficiency in the clotting mechanism. You may want to see a doctor if your child seems to bruise more readily than other children, or has bruises all over his body, or if you have a family history of blood disorders.

HAEMOPHILIA

This is an inherited bleeding disorder seen almost exclusively in boys. It is due to a deficiency of one of the substances in the blood (Factor VIII) which is essential for the clotting process. Boys affected with the condition usually present at an early age with bleeding (for example, recurrent nosebleeds which are difficult to stop) or easy and extensive bruising after seemingly trivial injuries.

Treatment of this condition is usually in a specialised unit. It involves the administration of Factor VIII after bleeding episodes. A child with haemophilia always needs to avoid contact sports.

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Posted by admin on September 11th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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The treatment of anaemia depends on its cause. If it is due to aplasia or haemolysis, then this is investigated and treated appropriately. Iron deficiency anaemia often requires iron tablets or medicines to be given by mouth, and, in rare cases, a blood transfusion. All children with iron deficiency need to be placed on a balanced diet with adequate iron intake. This usually means cutting down on milk and increasing the amount of iron-containing foods, such as spinach, meat, eggs and so on.

When to see your doctor

• if you suspect that your child may be anaemic because he is very pale;

• if your child is irritable yet lethargic and drinks large volumes of milk at the expense of solids;

• if you want additional information about what to feed your baby.

Prevention

Iron deficiency anaemia can mostly be prevented by making sure that your child has a balanced diet after the age of 6 months. Most health professionals now advise against giving babies cow’s milk earlier than 12 months of age. Your local maternal and child health nurse or doctor can give you specific information about nutritional intake.

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Posted by admin on September 11th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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Although no two children follow exactly the same path in their development, when we consider the complexity of the developmental process, there is a remarkably consistent sequence followed by most children. In the first 5 years of life, your child progresses from a newborn baby who has relatively limited ways of communicating with you, to a child starting school who is capable of sophisticated functioning in several domains.

Parents like to follow the course of the child’s development, and to record the occasions when their child achieves certain milestones. You can record these dates and ages in the space provided in the table below.

Parents are often the first to detect signs of developmental delay, when the child is late in achieving milestones. The table below lists a number of developmental milestones and the average or range of ages at which most children achieve them. Remember that this is a guide only, and there is considerable variation in development between children. A child’s development is a dynamic process. You should not be alarmed if your child is slower in achieving these milestones. Equally, fast development may not indicate that your child is unusually gifted. However, if your child is consistently and significantly delayed in the age at which he reaches these milestones, then you should consult your doctor or maternal and child health nurse. He or she will check your child’s development, and refer him to a specialist if necessary. Parents usually know intuitively whether their child is doing well devel-opmentally or not. Do not hesitate to seek reassurance if you are at all concerned.

Remember that these ages are average ages, and that there are children who are faster and children who are slower developers. Just because your child is later in achieving milestones than outlined in the table above, it does not mean that he is developing abnormally. However, if he is later in a number of milestones and you are at all concerned, or if you are worried about your child’s hearing or language development at any age you should not hesitate to consult your doctor or maternal and child health nurse.

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Posted by admin on May 21st, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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It is necessary for the proper development of the red blood cells and nervous tissues.

A lack of Vitamin B12, because of degeneration of these special cells of the stomach, which produce the intrinsic factor, is the cause of pernicious anaemia.

This disease, called pernicious when it was first discovered because the anaemia does not respond to the intake of iron, is treated by giving Â12 by injection.

As a final summary, let me say that vitamins are essential to good health.

A normal balanced diet contains all these essential food factors. And therefore, the taking of extra vitamins does no good whatever.

However, in certain disease states where there is a poor absorption of foodstuffs, or where an inadequate intake occurs, such as with the poor, the elderly, the unprivileged, the artificially fed infant or the food faddists, supplements of vitamins may be necessary.

For the rest of us they are not of much use. They will not necessarily do what you expect them to do.

But if you avoid taking an excessive quantity of them, you probably will do yourself no harm.

I suppose that if you believe that something will do you good, then it just might be of benefit.

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Posted by admin on May 18th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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Few give much attention to the feet until they start to play up but that probably applies to the rest of the body as well.

The foot has 26 bones, 19 muscles, 33 joints and over 100 ligaments.

It is a complex, strong, supple structure which supports us through life, yet we squeeze it into shoes which are too tight and designed by the whim of fashion rather than for comfort.

Management of problems of the feet mainly rests with the medical profession.

The general practitioner sees and deals with most problems, referring the more difficult, or those which require operation, to an orthopaedic surgeon.

In the past, chiropodists confined their practice to cutting toenails and paring corns and calluses.

They have now changed their name to podiatrists and have more training in all aspects of feet problems. Increasingly, people are going directly to podiatrists when feet start to ache.

Let us look at a few of the common foot problems.

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Posted by admin on May 15th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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Most infections of the urinary tract in women are located in the bladder and urethra and, although they cause great discomfort, they are not serious, infection is more dangerous when it involves the kidney. Infection in the kidney has usually spread upwards from the bladder.

Although little girls and elderly women do suffer from bladder infection it is usually a problem of sexually active women.

Symptoms come on suddenly and involve discomfort in the lower abdomen, frequency in passing urine, and burning or scalding usually at the end of the stream. There may be precipitancy, the feeling that the urine is going to come away, and the desire to pass water again straight after the bladder is emptied. Occasionally there is incontinence, when control is lost, or there may be blood in the urine.

Fortunately, these symptoms may settle down without any treatment, or the old-fashioned trick of drinking barley water works, as does any treatment to make the urine alkaline in reaction.

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Posted by admin on May 15th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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The well-known Russian physiologist Tarkhanov wrote: “The time will come when it will be a disgrace for a man to die less than 100 years old.”

There is extensive research going on in Russia on the prolongation of life. Russia is concentrating heavily on the preventive aspect of medicine. Russian medical scientists consider the prevention of disease and prolongation of life as their ultimate goals.

One of the Soviet scientists engaged in research on longevity is I Dr. Olga Lepeshinskaya. In her book Life, Age and Longevity, she states that the normal life span of the human beings should be not : less than 150 years, if they would observe the elementary laws of I health. Everyone who feels old before he reaches 100, she says, is j suffering from premature old age. And she claims that premature old age, like other diseases, can be prevented; it also can be successfully treated after it appears. How? Her recipe is simple enough:

sound, simple, natural nutrition;

plenty of physical work, recreation and rest;

a cheerful, optimistic outlook on life.

Here are some Russian longevity secrets, nutritionally speaking:

Food processing and refining is not as advanced in Russia as it is here; Russians still eat largely natural, unprocessed, unrefined I foods.

There are very few additives allowed in food processing or manufacturing; all artificial colorings and flavorings are totally prohibited.

Russians eat very little meat compared to Americans. Only 25 percent of their protein intake is acquired from animal sources j (in the United States it is 71 percent).

There are fewer devitalized foods and condiments available: no chewing gum, no Coca-Cola, no TV dinners.

Add to this less polluted water, virtually unpolluted air, no lead allowed in gasolines, more fertile soils, considerably less use of patented nonprescription drugs, and the great popularity of outdoor sports, hikes, bicycle tours, swimming, etc., and you can see why Russians are achieving better health and longer life. Their mortality rate is 7.6 per thousand against 9.4 in the United States and they have seven times more people reaching 100 years of age than has our country.

Here are a few other longevity points based on Russian medical discoveries and the experience of 21,000 Russian centenarians:

Russian scientists believe that vitamin C is the long-sought Fountain of Youth. They encourage Russians to collect wild rose hips and cultivate hip-bearing “vitamin roses” in their backyards for a plentiful supply of Vitamin C.

Russian scientists believe that vitamin E plays a vital role in staying younger longer and preventing premature aging. They prescribe vitamin E for the youthful function of sex glands and the healthy function of the reproductive system. At the Institute of Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Science, experiments with vitamin E have shown that it has an emormously beneficial effect on the diseases of old age, specifically in combination with vitamin A. The rejuvenating property of these vitamins, aside from their direct effect on sex glands, is explained by the fact that they strengthen the ability of the tissues to absorb oxygen, restore impaired circulation in blood vessels, especially in the small capillaries, and help to restore the normal permeability of the blood vessels.

Studies of Russian centenarians show that almost all of them use lots of honey in their diet. Russian doctors encourage people to eat honey; they also prescribe honey as medicine and use it in hospitals, at bedtime, to induce a deep, restful sleep.

Russians eat enormous quantities of sunflower seeds and use unrefined cold-pressed sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, the deficiency of which is definitely linked with premature aging. Sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of complete protein, B-vitamins, and minerals, especially zinc, which has been recently found to play an important role in the growth and maturity of the gonads, the sex glands, and is also directly linked with the health of the prostate gland. Zinc has been pointed out as an active agent in most so-called virility foods, such as oysters, raw nuts, sea foods, onions, etc. Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are very rich in this mineral.

Russians eat great amounts of raw onions and garlic, both considered by many nutritionists to be important life-prolongers.

Russian people eat lots of fermented foods; sour bread, sour pickles, sauerkraut, sour milk, kefir, yogurt. It has been demonstrated that fermented lactic-acid foods have an extremely cleansing and revitalizing effect on the digestive and assimilative tracts, and also have a direct curative effect, especially on the degenerative diseases. It could be, therefore, said that these foods have a rejuvenating effect.

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Posted by admin on May 8th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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The successful biological program for bringing blood pressure down and keeping it low must include the following proven measures:

Repeated 7- to 14-day fasts on fruit and vegetable juices, plus vegetable broth.

Lacto-vegetarian diet, high in natural raw fruits and vegetables and low in animal protein.

Continuous practice of undereating and keeping slim.

Exclusion of salt, coffee, and alcohol.

Exclusion of white sugar, white bread and all refined and

denatured foods.

Inclusion of special food supplements:

Vitamin E—take one to two tablespoons of wheat germ 0ji each day. Add raw wheat germ to your diet. Take vitamin E capsules, 300 to 600 International Units a day. Note: because vitamin E increases the strength of the heart beat, it may sometimes elevate the blood pressure temporarily. In case of severe hypertension, start with 100 I.U. and gradually increase to 600 I.U. a day.”

Vitamin C—take rose hips in powder or tablet form, or other natural vitamin C supplements, amounting to 1,000 to 1,500 mg. of C a day, and 20 to 100 mg. of rutin or mixed bioflavonoids.

Choline—take 2 tbsp. of lecithin each day. Supplement your diet with brewer’s yeast, rich in B-vitamin complex.

Potassium—eat lots of green leafy vegetables, potatoes (boiled or baked in their jackets), and other vegetables. Avoid salt. You may also wish to discuss with your doctor the advisibility of supplementing your diet with potassium salts in tablet form.

Garlic—take odor-free garlic and parsley tablets before each meal.

Regular walking and deep breathing exercises.

Dry brush massage morning and evening.

Elimination of possible emotional causes of disease.

The biological clinics in Europe and in the United States have records of thousands of cases of high blood pressure completely cured by the application of the treatments as outlined in this chapter. These treatments are safe and harmless and can be applied by yourself in your own home, if your blood pressure is not too high. In cases of severe hypertension it may be wise to show this chapter t0 your doctor and ask him about the advisability of undertaking this program of treatment under his supervision.

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Posted by admin on May 8th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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