IBF Network - Part 3

Treating Children’s Fevers

Your child’s head feels warm. You check again with your cheek, and you soon discover with the use of a thermometer that your child does in fact have a fever. What you do next is usually a personal decision. Here are some things to consider.

Fever Reducers can Often Mask Other Symptoms

Unless the fever is high enough to consider a visit to the Emergency Room, sometimes it is best practice to hold off on the fever reducers in order to see what else happens. For example, Timmy wakes up with a fever and no other symptoms. Mom waits to soon discover her little Timmy has a sore throat. She takes him to the doctor, and he has strep throat. Had she treated the fever, Timmy may not have noticed his sore throat, prolonging treatment and increasing spread.

Motrin or Tylenol?

Studies have shown both are just as effective as the other; however, some people swear one works better than the other. Sometimes it is that way for a child, but each child is a little different, so go by what works with your child as opposed to other people’s testimony.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is a little more gentle on the stomach, but it is more widespread in other products, so read all the active ingredients of all the medication you give your child to make sure you don’t accidentally overdose your child. Acetaminophen is one of the most popular drugs in overdose deaths and acute liver failure. Possibly, people underestimate the toxicity of this drug.

Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) can be a little harsher on the stomach than acetaminophen, but it generally last a little longer. While many overdoses occur, the overdose deaths are not as frequent as with acetaminophen.

Some people flip flop both, especially for high fevers and pain purposes. If you go that route, make sure you document accurately doses, drug, and time of dose so as not to accidentally overdose.

Obvious Healthy Things People Forget To Do

Here are some of the things everyone knows are required to be healthy, yet they are the first to go in a list of many people’s priorities. As a gentle reminder, here’s the obvious.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Not only is sleep awesome when it’s a good sleep on the world’s most comfortable mattress with the world’s most delicious dream, but it’s healthy to get about six to eight consecutive hours of sleep a night. In addition, the routine of a regular bed time and a regular wake time is just as healthy (if not healthier) for adults as it is for children.

Drink Lots of Water

Water is the best nature’s resource to great health. Not only does it help many people to lose weight to drink lots of water, it can help the aging process, make your skin glow and reduce acne, and stop dehydration dead in its tracks. Some studies suggest most of America is dehydrated and doesn’t even know it, so for many, a little more water can increase energy, brain function, and prevent migraines. Many who have decided to drink more water also find themselves less hungry and less tempted to drink soda.

Eat a Nutritious Diet

A healthy diet can provide wonders to the human body, and everyone knows many of the basics to a healthy diet such as eating green leafy vegetables, fruits, fiber, protein (meats), milk, etc. Many still end up at the fast food drive thru instead. There are fine dining establishments who charge $10 for a side of Asparagus. Healthy food is really a delicacy.

Take Your Vitamins

Modern technology has afforded civilization with the ability to extract vitamins and mash it all together into a daily pill. It’s not the most magical pill to exist in imagination, but it is one pill that can magically help prevent a plethora of health problems people wish a magic pill could cure.

Keep Asthma Under Control

If you aren’t living with asthma, consider yourself lucky! There aren’t many things in this world scarier than a severe asthma attack. Just imagine how it would feel if you were suddenly unable to draw a single breath of air. In some cases, this can happen with little or no warning. If you or your loved one is living with this very serious chronic illness, let’s take a look at a few things you should do.

Keep Your Asthma under Control

If you or your loved one suffers from asthma, it’s important to see a doctor regularly to keep this chronic disease under control. It’s much easier to prevent an asthma attack than to recover from one! In fact, a severe asthma attack could result in a trip to the hospital or worse. Make sure you take your medicine and use your inhaler as directed. Stay away from smoke, dust, and other allergens as much as possible. With the proper healthcare and maintenance medication, most people with asthma can live a perfectly normal life.

Buy a Good Insurance Policy

Of course, doctor visits, breathing treatments, medications, and hospital visits can get expensive. However, when it’s a life or death matter, you can’t afford to not take care of this dire medical problem. To minimize your costs and keep every health care option open, invest in a great health insurance policy. By taking advantage of online insurance quotes, you can easily compare a variety of coverage levels, insurance companies, and prices to get the best deal on the health care features you actually need.

Don’t suffer, or allow a family member to suffer, with the dangerous disease known as asthma. Take advantage of one of the many health insurance plans available to provide medical care on a regular basis and in the event of an emergency.

Healthy Foods on a Budget

To help combat the increase in grocery prices, here are three foods that not only friendly to the body, but also friendly to the wallet.

Rice

Not the minute rice or microwavable rice, but the one that comes in a bag that requires a good 20 minutes to cook. Rice opens up opportunity for creativity. For instance, when you prepare the rice, instead of using water, you can use chicken broth. In addition, you can add vegetables, beans, cooked meat, eggs, etc. The sky is the limit with the different rice concoctions you can make based on the ingredients you have sitting around your kitchen. You may find good use for that can of beets yet.

Beans

A decent source for protein, beans are not really that expensive. You can get them already soft and ready to cook in a can, or you can buy them a little cheaper by the bag and follow the instructions on the back of the bag to soften them. Kidney beans and red beans are great to add to rice. You can also make your soup a little more filling by adding beans.

Marinara Sauce

Buying a jar of spaghetti sauce can be expensive, but if got a slew of Italian seasonings sitting in your spice cabinet or growing in your herb garden, you may find making marinara sauce a little more from scratch to be very friendly to your wallet. Generally, mix two cans of diced tomatoes drained with two cans of tomato sauce and one can of tomato paste. Add vegetables and seasonings to your liking. Basic seasonings generally include oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, garlic salt/powder, onion salt/powder, salt and pepper. Of course, you can replace salt/powders with actual garlic and onion. Some people add a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce or Pepperoncini peppers. Taste as it simmers for inspiration.

Uses for Catnip Beyond the Cat

Catnip is a mint that has many awesome benefits for the human species as well as the cats.

Natural Sedative

Many people find a catnip tea or a pill helps them reduce anxiety and fall asleep. Once upon a time back before empirical evidence and over the counter medication, people used catnip to help fussy babies go to sleep; however, in this day and age, it’s not recommended for babies or pregnant women.

Pest Deterrent

Studies are starting to show that catnip oil might actually repel certain bugs such as mosquitoes, cockroaches, termites, fleas, and flies. Unfortunately, smearing it across the skin seems to diminish the effect. While it does still repel mosquitoes for that case, it does not function better than products like Deet. However, off the human skin, it seems to repel better than Deet. More studies are being done to create effective all natural products with cat nip oil to repel bugs. Keep a look out. In addition, many contend that growing some catnip will deter mice away claiming that mice have a natural instinct to know where there is catnip, there are cats.

Healing Claims

In the field of natural medicine, many assert that catnip can help treat headaches, settle an upset stomach, and clean out a cut or scrape. It’s also an astringent, so used topically on the skin, it helps pull toxins forward and can help keep pores clean. It’s also a diuretic, meaning it makes you urinate more frequently.

Food

Because it’s a mint, catnip makes for a great special, secret ingredient in salads and meals. Some will rub meat with catnip as well, and you can use it to garnish foods. Don’t forget the catnip tea.

Cats

Cats love catnip, and giving it your cat (kittens don’t usually respond to catnip) makes them do funny things you can laugh at, and laughter is sometimes the best medicine.

Do you Think Your Child has Autism?

Image via Wikipedia

Many parents start realizing there child might have a mild autism long before a psychologist notices it. Here’s some helpful information in your search.

Autism is known as a spectrum, and included in that spectrum is mild autism also known as Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Development Disorders. To be diagnosed on the spectrum, one has to display a certain level of Repetitive Behaviors and Social Dysfunctions. The DSM criteria, however, is only the source for an actual diagnosis, but it nowhere near entails all autism has to offer.

The easiest way to remove all doubt on autism is the Autley Glare. It’s that spaced-out into infinity look that can happen often with severe autism and occasionally to frequently with mild autism. Once you see that glare become redundant into your child’s life, especially on days your child is tired, you can almost be certain your child is on the spectrum.

The experts say autism lacks empathy and imagination. That is false. Autistic people empathize well with each other. They empathize with non-autistic people about as well as non-autistic people empathize with autism. When it comes to imagination, autistic people just have a unique imagination. The creator of Pokemon is diagnosed with Asperger’s, and he based his Pokemon creatures off of his special interest of bugs and turned it into a social game.

Autism usually comes with hyper-sensitivities to light, sound, correction, criticism, rejection, betrayal, transition, etc. In addition, they often have special interests or obsessions, usually on “boring” topics like WWII tanks or Pokemon. They do not play well into gender roles. Hyper-focus on the unimportant is also a common trait as well as being overactive or underactive, playing with toys differently, lining up toys, sleep issues, mild lack of eye contact, and monologues.

Keep in mind autism can very well be genetic, meaning one of the child’s parents or family could be undiagnosed on the spectrum.

Prevent Aging

So many products are available to decrease wrinkles, tighten the skin, and make us look and thereby feel younger. Here are some good ways to combat aging.

Drink Lots of Water

Amazing how the very substance that causes skin to wrinkle when submerged into it for long lengths of time is also the very same substance that helps prevent wrinkles with aging. Our bodies are predominantly made up of water. A very high percentage of our blood, brain, muscles, and skin are comprised of water. When dehydrated, our bodies do not operate to its potential. We feel fatigued, slower thinking, and just older all together. In addition, water carries nutrients and cleans out toxins, which is very beneficial to skin.

Use Sunscreen

The sun can make aging happen faster and sooner when it comes to the skin. Sunscreen helps combat those effects before they happen. In addition, those who find life more comfortable in the luxury of an air-conditioned home or underneath a shade now have more a reason to avoid sitting out in the sun.

Don’t Smoke

Free radicals such as that found in tobacco smoke and air pollution contribute to the aging of the skin as well.

Maintain a Healthy Diet

Ever notice how pregnant women’s skin glows, hair shines, and fingernails grow strong? Some of that can be contributed to Pre-Natal Vitamins. For beauty with the skin and hair, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and Antioxidants are generally the items people turn to first. In addition, protein is necessary for cells to re-build, and considering the skin is constantly shedding and rebuilding and that slows down with age, protein can help. In addition to the skin, a healthy diet also combats other negative factors to aging.

Skin care

Many people once they start noticing the wrinkles forming resort to skin care products. Look for ones that contain Vitamin A (retinoid), Antioxidants, and Alpha-hydroxy Acids.

General Benefits of Tai Chi

Tai Chi offers two purposes in this day and age. One is the martial art quality, and the other is the health quality.

Martial Arts Benefits

Practice makes perfect, and Tai Chi takes martial arts moves and slows it down into a repetitive dance to help classically condition the mind to react to certain fighting situations defensively with a pre-determined response.

In addition to the martial art, you are learning about a way of life with The Tao, The Way. The Tao philosophy is go with the flow, no force, circular approach to life, and it’s in sync with the natural laws of Mother Earth. The Tao believes in contentment of what you have with a strong emphasis on the present. Walk lightly is the Tao’s secret to long life. Catherine Kerr, a professor at Harvard Medical School who practices Tai Chi says, “Doing Tai Chi makes me feel lighter on my feet.”

Health Benefits

The current studies are at that phase where they realize Tai Chi may have many positive effects on people’s overall health, but there isn’t enough evidence just yet to make it a sure thing. The problem is most studies approach ideas from a clinical trial standpoint, but Tai Chi has so many other variables that a more creative approach will be required. Some studies have shown evidence that Tai Chi can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, improve sleep, reduce chronic pain, increase balance and flexibility, and help reduce falls for the elderly.

Some good resources on the Tao to enhance your Tai Chi experience include:

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu/Tse—a very ancient, poetic description of the Tao

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff –a modern description of the Tao in a very easy to read format

Twin Warriors starring Jet Li (movie)—a fiction story showing the Tao as a healer, a martial art, and a way of life and how they all go hand in hand.

Stretch Your Body and Reach Some Benefits

Stretching before and after workouts often becomes a low priority, but here are some awesome benefits to how stretching makes the workout.

Longer Muscles are Stronger Muscles

Building muscle is a sure-fire way to increase metabolism, and you really take a short-cut to building muscle through regular stretching. Don’t forget to regularly stretch your stomach muscles if you are aiming for some awesome abs.

Stretching Helps Prevent Discomfort

You are less apt to get muscle cramps and other muscular issues if you stretch before and after every work out. In addition, when running, you basically put three times your weight on your legs, and whatever weight your leg muscles cannot hold goes directly to your joints, which can increase Tendonitis among other issues. If longer muscles are stronger muscles, then stretching with strength exercises can help alleviate the weight that hits your joints. If you find yourself suffering from regular muscle spasms, it helps to increase electrolytes like potassium in your diet in addition to regular stretching. Foods such as meat, bananas, milk, and spinach are high in potassium. Some studies have shown that it can also help prevent sports injury, but that’s still controversial amongst the experts.

Stretching is Great for the Mind and Soul

Because you are taking a time out from a good workout or a busy day to relax and stretch your muscles, you are also taking a time out to relax and stretch your mind. Make sure you breathe regularly when stretching.

Flexibility and Joints

Stretching increases flexibility to make some tasks easier in life to perform, and it also increases the motion in your joints to help improve balance and reduce falls.

Warning

If you already have a medical condition that might interfere with stretching such as a strained muscle or a torn ligament, make sure you discuss your stretching exercises with your doctor beforehand.

Mentoring an Autistic Child

Mentoring can be an effective benefit to a high-functioning autistic child to teach him social and life skills and to increase his sense of approval through friendship. Some of the many areas that generally need developed in autism include the following:

Eye Contact

One of the most noticeable differences between those on the autistic spectrum and those off the spectrum is use of eye contact. Instead of looking you in the eye, an autley child might gaze into an infinite world behind you. While benefits for the autley glare exist, most usually people have a hard time trusting Autism at first instinct as a result of the lack of eye contact. Looking everyone in the eye is very unnatural to an autistic child, but looking at an eyebrow, nose, or mouth can come more natural to them on a conscious level.

Negative Feedback from Peers

The autley mind often sees the smallest criticism as the end of the world. This method of thinking can result in bad days at school, very hurt feelings, and lower self-esteems while creating a people pleasing personality and a bitter attitude. It helps to explain to the child about bad relationships and temporary attitudes in addition to re-assuring that the child is loved by the people who matter the most.

Monologues

In addition to going on and on, autistic minds with a keen sense of pattern recognition have a tendency to finish other people’s sentences or interrupt with an argument as a result of finishing the sentence in their head. The main culprit of this is difficulty organizing information. Many autley folk tend to contrive a main point from details rather than supporting a main idea with details. Understanding this difference is a great first step in helping them overcome taking over conversations. In addition, help teach them to understand how people take offense to such behaviors.

Breathe Network