Expert Advice | Family Resource

Dressing Correctly for Weather Conditions

Dressing right for the weather can be a pretty important health factor whether in the middle of a hard winter or summer vacationing at the beach.

In cold and wet weather, it is most important to stay not only warm, but also dry. In extremely cold weather you will want to think in terms of layers:

1. Skin Layer; long underwear is best, as it drives wetness away from skin and helps it evaporate

2. Middle layer; think Warm! Wool and/or fleece are safe bets.

3. Outer layer; this is the protective layer and should protect you from water and wetness.

Of course, hats, shades, mittens and gloves are also very important, not to mention the right kind of boots and socks.

In hot weather, dressing correctly is just as important for health; too much sun can be overwhelming.

Protect your head with hats or scarves. In an area with very little shade it is best to wear clothes that actually cover your body rather than having too much skin exposed. Look for natural materials like a natural cotton, that can breathe; this will keep you much cooler than a synthetic material.

Choose natural materials in shoes whether you are wearing sandals or sneakers. Shoes made from real leather, or canvas, are the best ventilation for your feet.

Again sunglasses are important as well as gloves, if you are riding a bike or motorcycle.

Be aware that in extremely hot weather, more clothes can be better for your health than stripping down to the minimum. This is because a layer of clothes can help you retain water as well as shield you from serious sunburn.

Filed Under: Expert Advice, Medical Care Tagged With: Clothing, Health, Weather

Hand Sanitizer vs. Soap: What is the Better Option?

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Hand sanitizers have burst onto the market putting up a mean fight against bacteria. Marketed as an effective way to wash your hands without soap or water when neither is available, hand sanitizers appeal to the germ conscious out there, especially those germ conscious people with little children. For these people hand sanitizers are a dream come true.

Hand sanitizers work by stripping away the out layer of oil which sits on the skins epidermis. This is where a lot of different bacteria sit that we come in contact with. It should be noted that most hand sanitizers claim to get rid of 99.9% of bacteria present on the hands. However in the laboratory the hand sanitizer is test on non-human surfaces which are able to be controlled.

Soap and water has been shown by several researchers to be just as, if not more effective than antibacterial hand sanitizers. People have been using good old soap and water to wash hands and keep hygienic for many centuries. The addition of hand sanitizers does not reduce a person’s susceptibility to certain germs any more than the traditional form of hand washing. In fact, there are those in the academic community who believe that the constant use of such antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers in fact weakens the growth of a strong immune system, thus weakening a person’s immune system and making him or her more susceptible to illnesses which are caused by bad bacteria.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using hand sanitizers or soap and water for keeping clean and healthy. Either way you will keep germs at bay.

Filed Under: Child Care, Expert Advice Tagged With: Hand sanitizer, Hand washing, Soap

Be Happy To Stay Healthy

We talk about good diet, exercise, hygiene as some of the ways to keep ourselves healthy but what we miss out in life is- we forget to smile and laugh. Even if we take good diet and exercise regularly to keep ourselves healthy but we can not stay healthy if we are always under stress.

Laughter is the best medicine is well known proverb and it is important to stay cheerful to keep ourselves healthy. Many medical researches have also come up with a number of results that happiness is undoubtedly the best way to stay healthy and there are a number of medical reasons behind it. When a person laughs, it relieves the whole physical tension that the person might have been going through. The muscles of the body get relieved and this saves the person from contractions of muscles and makes him/her healthy.

A lot of time, people suffer from asthmatic problems because of some contraction in the respiratory tract. If a person remains happy, then, they can prevent themselves from such respiratory problems as well. Laughter costs nothing but it pays back a lot. Some of the heart diseases are also caused in the body due to contraction in the heart muscles. Thus, the best way to keep your heart in a good condition is to be cheerful in your life.

Immune system gets a boost due to happiness and laughter. Laughter energizes the immune cells in our body and this improves the ability of these cells to fight with a number of diseases. Thus, even if some bacteria enter our body which cause diseases, the immune cells will be able to fight with them. Enjoy yourselves and cheers!

Filed Under: Expert Advice, Medical Care Tagged With: Health, Heart disease, White blood cell

More About Medical Insurance

You need to realize which factors apply to you and need to find solutions for them. Diseases can happen to anybody, during any part of their lifetime. Getting ill may not be only harmful for your health but also may be a hazard for your family. Through out the ages, there have several kinds of cures for several kinds of diseases. As there are many of ways of treatments, there are different kinds of treatments for every type of disease.

While going for treatments, one major question that arises in our minds is about the finances. “Are we ready to afford this kind treatment?”, “Is this treatment too costly?”, “How will I manage other things if I have go for such a costly one?”; these are, however only some of the question that appear in your mind while you select treatments for ourselves and loved ones. However, there is wonderful solution now. You can easily opt for medical insurances to save yourself from all these mind boggling questions.

Selecting a good health insurance is not tough. There are several health insurance companies that offer medical insurance and other related products. You may easily walk up to your local insurance office and ask for medical insurances. There are several insurance companies you can Google up. These insurance companies are constantly haggling for your attention. They offer you better quotes and privileges. Therefore you need to select the one that suits your needs the best.

Choose for premium payments which suit you the best. There are several kinds of payment options like monthly, quarterly and yearly. As there are different payment options, there are also different insurance quotes. Choose the quote you want and do not get influenced by what others have to say. Find the best kind of insurance is the one that suits your families needs the best way without any kind of hassle.

Filed Under: Expert Advice, Medical Care Tagged With: Health, Health insurance, Insurance

How Warm is Warm Enough?

Have you ever heard the joke, “Why do babies wear sweaters?” The answer is, “Because their mommies are cold.” While many will laugh at that answer, there is some strong element of truth to it. Most of the time, we dress our children for our comfort, not for theirs. It is possible that they aren’t cold when we are.

Each person’s metabolism is different, and that affects how easily we get cold. If someone has a slow metabolism, they tend to get cold easily; but if they have a fast metabolism, they don’t tend to get cold easily. Here’s the kicker; most children have higher or faster metabolisms than adults do. As we get older, or metabolism slows down, and we get cold easier. Not only that, but children outside playing don’t know how to walk, they only know how to run; or at least, that’s the way it seems sometimes.

So, if we dress our children to make ourselves comfortable, than we might actually be overdressing them. If they are playing outside in the cold, all bundled up, they could actually be sweating, at the same time that we, as adults are shivering. Sounds okay, right? Wrong! Sweating in the cold can lead to them actually getting colder than if they were wearing lighter clothing. If the sweat freezes on their skin, it can really cause problems.

It is important to be sure that the way our children are dressed when they go out in the cold is adequate for their needs, not for ours. Put your hand inside their clothing from time to time, to make sure they aren’t getting too hot. Have extra layers to put on them if they need it, but also have them dressed in layers, so that something can be taken off if necessary.

In the long run, it’s better for our children to be just a touch cool, than to be overly hot. It might be a little harder to judge that, but with a little practice, you’ll know what they need for whatever activity they are going to do.

Filed Under: Child Care, Expert Advice Tagged With: Metabolism, Perspiration

Food Allergies

Many children suffer from food allergies and many of the types of allergies that children have are very serious. For instance, a peanut allergy is a progressive allergy. This means that the allergic response gets worse with every occurrence. For example, if the first allergic response involves a hard time breathing, hives, or discoloration of the skin, the second and third responses will have the same type of events, but just at an increasingly stronger magnitude. Especially with peanut allergies, the affects of the allergic response can be get to the point that touching a peanut can cause a sever reaction.

Another intense food allergy is with shellfish. Many children that have this allergy usually react with anaphylactic shock. This is the where the body can not fight off the histamine in the fish, and begins to swell. The areas that have touched the fish are the areas that begin to swell. This means that the throat, mouth, tongue, and lips swell. With anaphylactic shock, the swelling can begin immediately, and unless there is immediate intervention, can be extremely harmful. This allergy is much like a peanut allergy, in that is can worsen with each event. However, this allergy does not worsen with the same speed like that of a peanut allergy. Peanut allergies can take only two or three events to become at is fullest reactionary stage. With shellfish, this can take years.

All food allergies are serious, and should be taken very seriously by those that are around, and care for your child. It is recommended that a bracelet be worn by your child, identifying the allergies that are present. It is also imperative that you notify their schools about the condition, so that your child can remain protected. This includes not allowing certain snacks or foods in the classroom by other students, and separating your child from others at lunch to make sure every precaution is taken.

Filed Under: Child Care, Expert Advice, Medical Care Tagged With: Allergy, Peanut allergy

The Importance Of Vaccinations

Vaccinations are vital for your child’s health. There are many childhood diseases thought to nearly disappeared because of important vaccinations. Some of the primary ones that children receive are for measles, mumps, and rubella. These diseases are sometimes fatal, but usually their lasting affects later in life are the true end result. Measles, for instance, can be miserable for a child to endure, but depending on the severity, can cause sterility. Mumps can cause problems with hearing, and sterility. Rubella can cause most harm to pregnant women, who contract the disease from infected children. The disease can lead to late term miscarriage.

These are only a handful of the diseases that children are vaccinated for, and because there is a blanket approach to vaccinating young children, many of these diseases are nearly extinct in the United States. However, there are those that are afraid to have their children vaccinated. There was a case report where a doctor misrepresented his finding for a completely unrelated phenomenon to the use of vaccinations. Since that report was released, many of these diseases are making their way back into our children’s lives. The doctors research was clarified, and it was found to produce false results. The outcome of this was that millions of children are susceptible to diseases that up until a decade ago, were thought to be eliminated in western culture.

Vaccinations are an important step in ensuring that our children are able to have happy, productive lives, without the threat of long term affects from a preventable disease. By taking care of your children, it protects countless others around them, including family and friends. Counties have health departments that offer free vaccinations once a month. Contact your local Health Department if you are interested in learning more about the offerings and education on available vaccinations.

Filed Under: Expert Advice, Medical Care Tagged With: Rubella, Vaccination

Seasonal Allergies

Many children deal with allergies, whether it is seasonal or year-round. There are things that you can do that can alleviate some of the culprits of seasonal allergies. For instance, many homes in the summer have swamp coolers, also known as water coolers, or vented window units depending on your area. These machines hold dust, mold, mites, and pump the room they are in with allergy causing air particles. The best way to curb this is by making sure there are clean filters in the units, and that they have been kept in a clean place, or winterized with as much seal as possible.

During the winter, many allergies pop-up because the house becomes a petri dish of allergens. How do you handle this? Open the windows a few times, and air out the house. Disenfect handles, door knobs, the bathroom, and other areas where there is a lot of touching, and maybe not enough washing. This will help. The other consideration that you could make during this time of year, is by replacing your child’s pillows. Pillows and matresses hold epithelials. These are skin cells that sluff off during the night. These cells accumulate, and actually hold onto viruses, and cause allergy related issues. This is especially important since your child can be inhaling these old dirty cells in their sleep because of close contact. Having a matress cover can also significantly cut down on the amount of allergens that a mattress can hold.

During the Spring and Summer, make sure your children bath at least once a day, and preferably before bedtime. Many allergens from this time of year include pollen, and other naturally sticky materials. When your child bathes they are washing off those sneeze causing pollens. This will also prevent the pollen from making its way to your childs bed, where it can stay, causing allergies to worsen.

Filed Under: Expert Advice, Medical Care Tagged With: Allergen, Allergy

Diagnosing an Allergy

When your child has an allergic reaction to something, the first step is figuring out what caused the reaction so that you can keep it from happening again. Different types of allergies have different symptoms, so by analyzing these symptoms you can narrow down the cause.

Hay fever is one of the most common allergies. It’s caused by a reaction to certain plant pollens and is characterized by runny nose, sneezing, and red itchy eyes. More severe reactions can include hives (red itchy bumps or welts on the skin) and dark circles under the eyes, called allergic shiners.

Other respiratory allergies that cause similar symptoms are allergies to pet dander, dust mites, or mold. Typically hay fever is seasonal in nature, getting better or worse as the weather changes, while indoor allergies are constant year-round.

If your child has an itchy red rash but no other allergy symptoms, and the rash remains over several days or develops blisters, it’s caused by a reaction to a poison plant – most commonly poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac. All of these plants contain a chemical called urushiol that causes an allergic reaction when it touches the skin.

A respiratory-type reaction combined with swelling around the mouth, vomiting and/or diarrhea is probably a food allergy. Common causes of food allergy are nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, and certain types of fish or shellfish

Narrowing Down the Cause

Hay fever occurring in the spring is usually caused by tree pollen; summer hay fever is caused by grass; and autumn hay fever is caused by ragweed or sometimes fungus spores. Indoor allergies can be tough to diagnose and are best dealt with as a group; talk to your doctor about how to reduce indoor allergens. To identify a food allergy you may need to ask your doctor to do blood tests or scratch tests on your child.

Filed Under: Expert Advice, Medical Care Tagged With: Allergy