 Head lice  are insects that feed on the blood of your scalp. This condition usually affects children and is moderately contagious. Contrary to popular belief, head lice does not occur due to poor personal hygiene. 


The symptoms of head lice are:
1. Presence of lice on scalp: Lice are small insects that are usually hard to spot. But their infestation can be felt because you experience intense itching on the scalp. 


2. Itching: There will be intense itching on the scalp and the neck. This itching occurs due to the saliva secretion by the lice that the skin is allergic to. Usually, the itching starts after 3 to 6 weeks of infestation. 


3. Lice eggs: The lice eggs stick to the shafts of the hair. They are very hard to spot as they are small and well camouflaged. 


What can be the reasons behind their infestation
This condition is contagious; apart from direct contact with the scalp of an infected person, this condition can also spread if you happen to share the below mentioned items with an infected person:
1. Brushes 
2. Hats
3. Headphones
4. Towels
5. Pillows
6. Accessories for the hair


The treatments for hair lice are:
1. Over- the counter (OTC) products: OTC products are made from  pyrethrin , a compound extracted from the  chrysanthemum  flower.  Pyrethrin  works as an insecticidal compound and it is advised to use these medications only after washing your hair with a shampoo. Vinegar may also be used to loosen the nits from the hair shafts. 


2. Prescription medications: Certain medications can also be prescribed by the doctor, such as benzyl alcohol and lindane.


Certain home remedies for head lice include:
1. Essential oils: Apply oils such as Anise oil or tea tree on the scalp; these oils act as toxins for the lice.
2. Wet combing: This is a method wherein the wet hair is combed using a fine toothed comb to remove the nits and the lice. Repeat the procedure for 3-4 days every week.

Head Lice - How You can Treat Them?

Also called gluten-sensitive enteropathy and celiac sprue, celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disorder, wherein the consumption of gluten-based foods leads to damage of the tissues that line the small intestine. This hinders the ability of your body to absorb the essential nutrients from the foods you eat.

Causes
Under normal conditions, the immune system of the body offers protection against external intruders. When individuals diagnosed with celiac disease consume gluten-based foods, gluten resistant antibodies are formed by the immune system. This causes them to attack the linings around the intestines, thus causing irritation in the digestive tract and harming the villi (hair-like structures on the covering of the small intestine which absorb nutrients from the food). This impairs the nutrient absorbing capacity of the individual, thus increasing chances of malnourishment.

Symptoms
Celiac disease has symptoms that vary from patient to patient. Some of the common symptoms include:

A severe skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis.
Digestive problems such as:
Pain
Gas
Abdominal Bloating
Diarrhoea
Weight loss
Pale stools
Musculoskeletal problems such as bone and joint pain as well as muscle cramps
Seizures
Aphthous ulcers which are basically sores occurring in the mouth
Tingling sensation in the legs which are caused by low calcium and nerve damage
Growth issues in children since they cannot absorb the required amount of nutrients
Irregular menstrual cycles
Other complications associated with celiac disease

Miscarriage or Infertility
Osteoporosis. This is a disease which weakens the bones and causes fractures. It is caused because of a deficiency of Vitamin D and calcium.
Intestinal Cancer
Other birth defects: Such as irregular spinal shape because of the deficiency of certain nutrients, especially folic acid.

Celiac Disease - Signs You Are Suffering From It!

Constipation is when a person has difficulty passing stool or has very dry stool. With processed and refined food habits on the rise, constipation is also becoming a rampant problem. The food passes through the large intestine, where a large part of the water is reabsorbed and stool is formed. This is expelled from the body, and if there is constipation, this passage of stool can be difficult, painful, and may be accompanied by bleeding too.

Constipation is common in children as well as among the elderly. Children eat a lot more junk compared to adults. As age progresses, elders begin losing teeth and they chew less which leads to indigestion and thereby constipation. Treating constipation should be a conscious effort as it does not have a single remedy. A combination of dietary changes including all aspects like fiber, water, caffeine etc. can help in treating constipation effectively. 

As the first thing in the morning, drinking a glass of lukewarm water is good. Add some baking soda to this, if you are feeling bloated, it aids in cleansing the bowels.
Ginger tea is another great remedy to induce bowel movements in the morning.
A glass of warm milk with a little honey or sugar is a good remedy for constipation.
Warm water or milk with Isabgol husk at bedtime helps bowel movements in the morning.
Applying a few drops of lukewarm castor oil over the navel when going to sleep can help in easy passage of stools in the morning.
Guava, pears, oranges, grapes, papaya, apples, and other fruits add roughage to the diet and help in easy passage of stools.
Soak some raisins in hot water, cool it, crush and strain them. This is very effective for treating constipation in children.
A glass of carrot juice or papaya juice is very useful in treating constipation.
Drink about 8 to 10 glasses of water to avoid constipation. The artificial juices and canned drinks do not count in this, as they only make it worse.
High-fat, processed foods, alcohol, and caffeine are major causes of constipation. So one should avoid them to a large extent.
Including small amounts of olive oil, castor oil, and ghee help in lubrication and easy passage of the stools.
Triphala, which is a popular Ayurvedic preparation, can be mixed with warm water and consumed to prevent constipation. Given its bitter taste, you can add a small amount of honey to it. It has antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-parasitic properties. This helps in overall cleansing of the colon and is not just a short-term remedy.
Yogasanas like pavana muktasana, yoga mudra, dhanur asana, and vajrasana have major benefits on the digestive system, including releasing accumulated gas and passage of stools.
Following these tips and maintaining dietary and lifestyle discipline is very effective in providing long term remedy from constipation.

Constipation - 13 Natural Ways It Can Be Treated!

In many cases; divorce and separation leads not only to bad blood between the parents, but also in a child alienating himself from one parent. Insulting or belittling one parent without justification or under pressure from the other parent is known as parental alienation syndrome. Parental alienation involves one parent undermining the other and interfering with the child s relationship with the other parent by limiting contact with them, bad mouthing them, forbidding discussion about them etc. This can have a very negative effect on the child s emotional state.

1. Self hatred: For children, hatred is not inborn, but developed by the situations they are in. By bad mouthing a parent and teaching the child to hate the parent, the child himself is harmed. With time, he begins to internalize this hatred and believe that there is something wrong with him that made the alienated parent not want him.

2. Low self esteem: When a child is not allowed to speak his mind and has to bottle up his thoughts, he becomes socially withdrawn. Often the child begins to feel that he is the cause for the rift in the family and makes himself responsible for the separation. This intensifies with time and makes the child lose confidence in himself leading to low self esteem.

3. Lack of trust: When a child is suddenly pulled away from one parent and told how that parent is not a  good person  the child is likely to feel betrayed. This creates a sense of doubt in the child s mind and makes it difficult for him to trust other people. As he grows up, this can affect his own adult relationships as well.

4. Depression: Depression is a commonly seen in children from broken homes and this is intensified in cases of parental alienation. It is rooted in the child s feeling unloved by either one of the parents and built up by the separation. Not being given a chance to speak about their feelings or talk about the situation makes them more depressed and they begin to withdraw into themselves. In many cases, it is noted that alienated children have strained relationships with their own children as well.

5. Substance abuse: Depression is one of the most common triggers for substance abuse. Alienated children often feels trapped and that they have no outlet to vent their feelings and frustrations. This often makes them turn towards drugs for relief and can make them victims of substance abuse.

Effects of Parental Alienation Syndrome on Children

Speech therapy is a very distinct form of science that is often misunderstood by people in general. While the benefits of such a therapy is countless, people misinterpret what the therapy actually involves and what it does not. If you are avoiding speech therapy due to the following reasons, you should stop doing so as these are nothing but fabricated myths.

Speech therapy is all about talking: Do not think that speech therapy only involves talking with the therapist. The therapy focuses on the overall communication skills of a person, which definitely involves the speech but also the intricacies of articulation and body language. Sign aids and comprehension skills are also paid attention to in such a therapy session. So, if you feel that you have a problem regarding any one of these aspects, you need to visit a speech therapist.
Speech therapy is uninteresting: Nothing can be further from the truth than this. In fact, a visit to a dentist can be boring, but a visit to a speech therapist will always involve interesting activities such as tongue twisters. The therapists often treat children, which means that their offices, house toys, and other games designed to indulge the minds of infants as well.
A qualified speech therapist is needed for the therapy: Another myth, which needs to be dispelled, is that only a qualified speech therapist can help improve the speech of a person. In fact, any person who has a vast knowledge of diction, linguistic insight, and knowledge of grammar can help people with speech impairment. So, before visiting the doctor, the adults in the family should try and clear out the impairment themselves.
Speech therapy fixes issues in the snap of a finger: As with any kind of treatment, speech therapy does not work like magic. It is a continuous and long process that needs to be followed through. The pace of this treatment depends on the patient. Some patients are more receptive to this therapy than others. So, there is no guideline for the treatment of all speech-impaired individuals and one needs to be treated and allowed to get better at their own pace.
Your child will automatically learn perfect speech: If your child suffers from a speech impairment, do not delay a therapy session by thinking that he/she will automatically learn to speak better as they grow up. This way of thinking is not beneficial and hinders the eventual treatment for the impairment. The speech therapist can help you better if you bring your child to him/her as soon as you detect an issue. 

Don't Let These Myths Turn You Off From Speech Therapy

Cerebral Palsy is a disorder related to the posture, movement or muscle tone, mostly due to immature development of the brain in a baby. This condition usually crops up, when the baby is already in the womb. The symptoms may surface when the baby is in its infancy or even later. Irregularities in the reflexes, posture, walking style, etc should ring a bell for the parents. Kids suffering from cerebral palsy may also suffer from muscle imbalance of the eye muscles, leading to problems focusing on an object. The range of motions becomes limited as well. There could be conditions such as deafness, epilepsy, impaired brain function and blindness associated with this disease. 

Whom to consult for cerebral palsy in kids? 
A kid suffering from Cerebral Palsy might have to work with a medical team for a very long time. Parents might need the help of a paediatrician, orthopaedic surgeon, paediatric neurologist, physical therapist, speech-language pathologist, mental health specialist, developmental therapist, recreation therapist and special education teacher. 

Treatments that are available for Cerebral Palsy in kids Medication: 

Medications: Medications are often used to improve the functional abilities of a kid. Certain spasticity related complications, treatment of pain, and other symptoms of Cerebral Palsy can be treated with medications. It is important to discuss with the doctor, the side-effects involved in taking the medication. There are two types of medications- for isolated spasticity and for generalized spasticity. In case of Isolated spasticity, doctors recommend Botox injections every 4-6 months to stabilize one muscle group. If the whole body is affected due to cerebral palsy, doctors recommend medications such as baclofen, diazepam and dantrolene to relax the contracted and stiff muscles. 

Therapies: While there are many therapy treatment, three types of therapies are the most important for treating a child suffering from cerebral palsy. They are physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech& language therapy. Physical therapy is necessary for the flexibility, mobility and motor development of the child. Occupational therapy helps a kid imbibe alternative strategies to participate in daily activities. From teaching a child to walk with a cane to help them operate a wheelchair, physical therapy makes a child self-sufficient as much as possible. Speech and language therapy helps child s ability to communicate either verbally or with sign-language. 

Surgery: Surgery may be necessary to loosen the muscles, correct abnormalities of the bone etc. An orthopaedic surgery is necessary in cases where a kid was born with several deformities. The correction can decrease pain and increase mobility. In severe cases when the normal treatments do not help, doctors cut the tendon of spastic muscle. It helps to relieve the pain and relax the muscle.

Cerebral Palsy In Kids - Treatments That Can Help!

Don't wait any longer, manage your Home Remedies For UTI online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Home Remedies For UTI - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES