Archive for the ‘Health Procedures’ Category

Coping With ADHD

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Posted 26 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Diseases and Conditions, Health Procedures, Keeping Healthy

ADHD
Image Credit: Tiyok

It is important for parents and teachers to learn about ways in coping with ADHD. It is a fact that ADHD can hinder the maximum learning potential of a child in school. This is of great concern to those parties who are interested in the child’s education, which would be mostly the child’s parents and teachers.

It would be a great deal of waste if the child is by nature intelligent, and could have achieved much, but because of his inability to focus and impulsivity (brought about by having ADHD), he would not be able to develop his maximum potential.

Thus, these tips on coping with ADHD would be really valuable to be able to improve the ability of the child to grasp his lessons in school even amidst ADHD.

Behavior modification is one of the most effective strategies in coping with ADHD. The following techniques of coping with ADHD are all behavior modification strategies:

1.      Use of reward & consequence

-          Educators can swear for the effectiveness of the use of positive or negative consequences  either to reinforce positive behavior or to correct negative behavior.

-          For example, a child can be given verbal praises when he was able to accomplish a given task.  On the other hand, he can be given reprimands or simple punishments for not remaining on his seat during classroom discussion.

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2.      Repetition when giving instructions

-          This strategy on coping with ADHD is especially effective for children that get low scores on exams not because of not knowing the answer, but because of not following exam instructions. Even with difficulty in focusing on something, a child can find it easier to follow instructions when it is repeated by the teacher for several times.

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3.      Providing frequent verbal feedback

-          Attention span is frequently shorter on a child with ADHD, that is why when given a task, it is helpful to prompt the child with frequent verbal feedback to make sure that the child is able to follow through the instruction of the task. Verbal feedback can also be used in motivating the child to finish a task when the teacher observes that the child seems to be losing his interest or attention towards the task.

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4.      Use of routines

-          This is another strategy of coping with ADHD that addresses a child’s carelessness with regards to details of everyday activities. Forgetfulness about simple details is one common problem of children with ADHD. If a routine is practiced daily, the child has a lesser tendency to forget small details regarding everyday tasks.

5.      Teach the child to organize his things

-          Children with ADHD have the tendency to lose things such as school supplies or even toys. Organizing his things into how they are placed in his room decreases the tendency for the child to forget where his things are.

6.      Use planners, lists, written reminders or posted notes

-          Planners can help in organizing the schedule of upcoming activities like assignments or tests. This can improve the child’s anticipation and preparation for such activities. Lists, written reminders and posted notes can help the child to be always “on track” of the tasks that he has to accomplish.

7.      Breaking down long, complicated tasks into a series or short, simple tasks

-          A child with ADHD will usually get easily exhausted with longer tasks. If the task is broken down into a series of small tasks, each small task accomplished can give a sense of achievement to the child and thus, will increase the child’s eagerness to accomplish the task.

It is a rule of thumb in special education that “no two children are alike”. These strategies in coping with ADHD may be effective for one but may not work for the other. However, the above mentioned techniques in coping with ADHD may be tried by parents because these techniques has been tried and proven to increase the ability of a child to focus on school lessons and activities.

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Skin Perfection with Nature’s Best

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Posted 25 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Health Procedures, Keeping Healthy

Naturally occurring products do not cause serious side effects as artificial products do. Natural foods are better than processed ones; natural creams are better than heavily scented ones. Natural ingredients are best because they do not produce allergies.  They also do not alter the body’s metabolism that may cause illness.

On the other hand, most artificial products contain components that can cause lots of allergies and could also be hazardous to health. Many of these artificial creams and skin make-ups sometimes cause skin allergies, and in some cases, even more serious side effects.   Caution is recommended when trying out a new product.

This is where Nature’s Best comes in.  It offers skin perfection, natural products that are free from major artificial components. These products are hypoallergenic, effective and reliable. The day cream is a good method to remove black heads and white heads, and to make the skin cleaner and creamier. It contains natural substances that eliminate destructive toxins. This day cream are also affordable.

The night cream has the same natural action as the day cream. You do not have to worry about destructive substances touching your skin.

You may also want to eliminate those eye bags and laugh lines around your eyes with the eye serum. Pamper yourself by ensuring that you get the most out of the natural skin products provided by Nature’s Best.

A healthy, glowing skin reflects a healthy lifestyle and a healthy body.

Aside from the skin products, there are countless of safe products you can use. Be smart and picky about what product to promote and purchase. Always read the labels and ascertain that you do not have allergies to the components.

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The Secrets of a Youthful Skin

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Posted 23 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Health Procedures, Home Remedies, Keeping Healthy

Youthful skin is the dream of majority of people, especially women. Even when aging cannot be prevented, a person can still do some magic to hide his actual age. With the advancement of technology and the full-blast research on anti-aging regimens, there are no more reasons for you to look ugly when you reach old age. Here are the things you can do.

Vitamin-Enriched Products

The skin, like the rest of the body, lives well with sufficient vitamins and minerals. When you buy your regular skin products, go for the vitamin-enriched. This is now the trend in skin care. Manufacturers incorporate vitamins in almost all beauty products. If you still live with your old makeup and night creams, it is time to switch and adapt the youthful changes.

Go for Organics

Unlike chemicals, organic products come from all natural ingredients that do not harm the skin. If you want to maintain the youthfulness of your skin, organically manufactured products are highly recommended.

Maintain a Happy Disposition in Life

The last key in maintaining a great looking skin that is not available anywhere is your happy disposition in life. Since you cannot remove all the stress, just learn to live with it. Keep smiling and you will feel happier and more beautiful.

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How Would You Know If Your Child Has ADHD?

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Posted 17 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Diseases and Conditions, Health Procedures, Psychiatry

Signs to help you draw the line between having a child that is naturally active and having a child who has ADHD. ADHD, also known as attention – deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a disorder that is common in school-aged children, and characterized by the triad of inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity. A child who has ADHD need not manifest all three symptoms. In fact, ADHD is divided into three subtypes depending on which of the triad predominantly manifests in the child.

The subtypes of ADHD are the following:

  1. ADHD Predominantly Inattentive
  2. ADHD Predominantly Hyperactive Impulsive
  3. ADHD Predominantly Combined

One thing that may be of great concern to a parent is that manifestations of ADHD can affect a child’s social functioning and academic performance. Often, it is the school teacher who first suspects that a child has ADHD.

The school teacher will most likely inform the parent with regards to the observed signs of ADHD. However, a lot of children who has ADHD are within a regular classroom setting, and most teachers in the regular classroom setting do not have special training with regards to detecting signs of children with special needs, in particular, children with ADHD. Thus, it will also be helpful to a parent to know such signs and symptoms to be able to have an idea if the child has ADHD.

Based on the DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD established by psychiatry experts, the following are “red flags” that can make a parent suspect that his or her child has ADHD:

  • For the predominantly inattentive type:

1.      Child has poor attention span

(a child with less than 10 minutes focus to a particular task is said to have poor attention span)

2.      Child is very forgetful with details

3.      Child often complains of losing his things (like school supplies, toys, etc.)

4.      Child has problems with following instructions, as observed when answering exams or when child is instructed a particular chore (take note that inability to follow instructions is not because of inability to understand the instructions)

5.      Child often commits mistakes on school exams because of carelessness

6.      Child has difficulty in organizing things

7.      Child is unwilling to participate on tasks that require prolonged mental effort

  • For the predominantly hyperactive – impulsive type:

1.      Child is excessively talkative

2.      Child seems never to run out of energy

3.      Child seems to always move about

4.      Child has difficulty to comply when asked to behave

5.      Child has cannot remain on his seat for long periods of time

6.      Child loves to butt into other people’s conversations

7.      Child butts into someone who is talking (answers questions before someone has finished asking)

8.      Child has trouble with taking turns

  • A combination of the above signs and symptoms characterizes that a child who has ADHD is categorized in the predominantly combined subtype.

Parents, in collaboration with school teachers, must be watchful of these enumerated “red flags” in identifying if a child has ADHD. Although issues have been raised with regards to the effect of labeling a child with “having ADHD”, special educational needs might be met if we can identify that a child has ADHD. If a parent or concerned school teacher has suspicions that a child has ADHD, the professional that can best help with making a specific diagnosis is a developmental pediatrician.

(For more detailed readings on the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, the complete criteria may be read on any psychology or psychiatry book)

This video was uploaded by Johnson and Johnson, which is about child ADHD.

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Urinalysis: The Diagnostic Procedure

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Posted 16 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Health Procedures, Keeping Healthy, Laboratory Procedures

Urinalysis is one of the most common diagnostic procedures or tests requested by doctors. This is probably because of the easy availability of specimen, ease of collection and relatively inexpensive cost of the test. However, the simplicity of the procedure should not be a reason for either the patient or medical technologist to be too lax about urinalysis. Although the test seems easy to do, it is one of the most useful diagnostic tools used by doctors to screen diseases. Here are some of the important things you must know about the test.

Illnesses Detected

Urinalysis detects various medical conditions. Since urine is an ultra filtrate of blood, it contains information about your body’s most important processes. The few amount of urine can help you diagnose possible kidney related problems such as urinary tract infection, renal stones and glomerulonephritis. It can also detect chronic conditions like diabetes mellitus. Usually, doctors request for urinalysis when you show symptoms like low back pain, painful urination, abdominal pain and blood in the urine. The diagnostic procedure is very useful in diagnosing urinary tract infections, UTI.

Patient Preparation

The patient preparation depends on the kind of urine specimen requested from you. However, the most common specimen required is the random and first morning specimen. Since random specimen may be taken anytime of the day, there are no special preparations needed. For the first morning specimen, you have to collect the urine upon waking up in the morning. This is more preferred as the various urinary constituents have been pooled overnight which represent a better view of the body’s metabolism. For both types, you need to do a “clean-catch mid-stream”. For ladies, wash the vaginal area prior to collection. Allow the few drops of urine to come out before collecting the middle part. Avoid contaminating the specimen with tissue paper or water.

Test

The actual urinalysis test will only take 10-15 minutes. During this time, the medical technologist will do a visual, chemical and microscopic examination. After the test, your doctor will then interpret the results with consideration of your medical history, signs and symptoms and results from other diagnostic procedures.

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Home Remedies for Low Back Pain

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Posted 14 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Alternative Medicine, Diseases and Conditions, Health Procedures, Home Remedies, Physical Therapy

Low Back Pain
Image Credit: livenewspress.com

Home remedies for low back pain are effective if you know how to use them properly. Low back problems are one of the most common complaints experienced during adult life. The term “low back pain” is a very general term that represents a wide range of disease categories that may all manifest as pain on the lumbar area. Among the various conditions related to low back pain are the following: mechanical strains to the low back, herniated disks, fractures, arthritis, kidney infections, or even pregnancy.

The frequency of low back pain among adults brings a great deal of attention to this condition, especially in the field of rehabilitation medicine. Aside from its frequency, its impact on an individual’s functional activity poses a great deal of concern. It is said to be the most common cause why workers lose productive time at work.

Furthermore, studies have shown that the costs of treatment for low back pain may reach up to billions of dollars each year. Owing to these high costs of treatment, and also because this condition warrants immediate relief from pain and discomfort, knowledge regarding home remedies for low back pain may be very useful.

Among the home remedies for low back pain are the following:

* Application of superficial heat over the lumbar area

* Massage and therapeutic exercises that are focused on strengthening & stretching of key muscles that contribute to stability of the spine, especially on the lumbar area.The therapeutic benefits of these back pain remedies will be discussed further.

* Application of superficial heat is a very convenient home remedy for back pain. It can be done by using hot packs or hot water bottles applied over the painful area for 20 minutes. This can relieve the patient because of the thermal effects of heat causing analgesia, general relaxation and decreased muscle spasms.

* Another notable thermal effect of heat application over a localized area is vasodilation of blood vessels, which causes an increased blood flow to that particular area. Where blood flow increases, there would be more oxygen & nutrient supply to the area.

* Massage may be the most popular among the suggested home remedies for low back pain. It is the manual manipulation of superficial & deep muscles, done in a variety of strokes & techniques. During a session of massage, palpation of muscles spasms may be done to detect particular trigger points in the low back area. Just like heat, massage also causes, increased blood flow to the area, decreased muscle spasms & analgesia.

* Of all the given home remedies for low back pain, the therapeutic exercises are the interventions that provide long term effects. When muscles of the lumbar area are tight, they are in a state of increased tension, resulting to low back pain.

* stretching exercises of these muscles are advised to decrease their state of tightness. Strengthening exercises of the abdominal muscles are also advised because the abdominal muscles act as a corset that provides stability to the low back.

Among the popular strengthening exercises for the abdominals are curl ups, sit-ups or straight leg raising. It is important to note that of all home remedies for low back pain, the therapeutic exercises require active participation of the individual. Thus, compliance of the individual to do the exercises regularly is important to have its long-term benefits.

All of the home remedies for low back pain suggested above can provide both short term & long term relief for back pain. These techniques have the advantage of convenience and accessibility because they do not require purchase of expensive equipments and modalities. However, if in any case that these home remedies for low back pain are tried but offers no pain relief, it is suggested that the individual seeks further evaluation procedures to detect if there is other pathology that causes low back pain.

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Alternate Sites for Capillary Puncture

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Posted 13 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Health Procedures, Laboratory Procedures

There are several alternate sites for capillary puncture. These alternate sites are also good alternatives when the designated puncture area is injured.

Capillary puncture is the collection of blood through the capillaries; hence, through the capillaries of the skin. The most common sites are the pads of the fingers.

Alternate sites include:

Ear lobes

Big toes

Heel of infants

These are alternate sites of puncture that you can take advantage of. Remember to wipe the first drop of blood before collection as this is contaminated with tissue juices. Knowing the correct procedure in collecting from these alternate sites will ensure the reliability of your laboratory results.

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Vaccination – The Benefits and Risks

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Posted 12 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Diseases and Conditions, Drugs, Health Procedures

Vaccination
Image Credit: dansadventure.co.uk

Vaccination is one of the greatest achievements of public health. Within the last decades, many infectious diseases have been controlled because of immunization of the general population especially of children. However, some parents are still not aware of the benefits of the vaccination and are even worried about the health risks. If you are one of them, this article will clear some of your apprehensions about it.

Benefits

Vaccination does not only protect the individual but the people around him. When one gets vaccinated, he reduces the risk of exposing other people from infectious diseases. With only an average cost of $20, a child can be fully immunized from many diseases. If you will compare the amount to the potential cost of hospitalization and medication and even the life of the child, the amount is too small.

Risks

The possible risks of vaccination are very rare and mostly insignificant if you compare the advantages. Common side-effects include abscess from the injection site and slight fever. Although there are some claims relating autism with immunization, there are still no direct studies to prove such claims.

Since prevention is still better than cure, vaccination remains to be the crowning glory of public health works. As a parent, you can weigh the advantages and disadvantages of immunization if you are unsure of what to do.

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