Epilepsy is a form of chronic disorder and it is characterized by recurrent seizures. The episodes of epileptic seizures may differ from person to person. These seizures could be a result of genetic disorder or a result of trauma or stroke. During a seizure, a patient may also experience symptoms of neurological disorders and sometimes lose consciousness.

Medical help for epilepsy
Epilepsy itself cannot be cured using medication, but proper medicines help in eliminating recurrent seizures. These medicines stabilize the electrical activity within the brain preventing seizures.

How effective is the medication for epilepsy?
The success of controlling seizures using medicines depends on the type and severity of the epilepsy. Medicines for epilepsy are usually very effective and may fully keep seizures under control. However, controlling seizures caused due to brain problems may be more difficult. Usually, epilepsy medicines can control seizures for a long period of time when they are taken regularly.

When is medical help needed?
The decision about when to start medicines for epilepsy is a tricky one. This is because a first seizure cannot confirm whether a person has an on-going epilepsy problem. A second seizure may occur after many years or may not happen at all. Prediction of seizures is also quite difficult.

The severity of seizures also indicates when to start medicines for treatment. In case a first seizure is quite severe, medication should be started at once. Some people have very mild seizures even though they may be recurring in nature, and medication can be avoided in this situation.

All the pros and cons must be thought over before starting medications for the treatment of epilepsy. It is advisable to wait for a second seizure and then start medications for treatment. In most cases, medication is started after a second seizure occurs, twelve months within the first seizure. You should always consult a doctor to know when you need to start taking medicines to treat the condition.

For making the most out of the medicines to control seizures, you should follow certain steps:
1. You must take medications exactly as your doctor has prescribed.
2. Before switching to generic versions of your medicines or before taking other prescribed medicines, you must consult your doctor.
3. You should never stop taking the medicines.
4. In case you experience enhanced depression, mood swings and suicidal thoughts, you should talk to your doctor immediately.
5. In case you have migraine, you should let your doctor know so that he can prescribe you anti-epileptic medicines, which also prevent migraines.

Medicines cannot treat the underlying cause of epilepsy, but these help in controlling seizures and this is the most common symptom of epilepsy. Medication should be started at a proper time and must be continued without stopping.

When to Seek Medical Help for Epilepsy

Typhoid is an infectious bacterial fever with an eruption of red spots on the chest and abdomen and severe intestinal irritation, brought about by the Salmonella typhi bacteria. It can also be brought about by Salmonella paratyphi, a related bacterium that generally causes a less extreme sickness. The bacteria are stored in water or in the food by a human carrier and are then spread to other individuals around them.

Multiple Ways to Prevent Typhoid Fever

Vaccination: Take one dose of the vaccine one week before travelling. The other is given orally in four cases, with one container to be taken every alternate day. Neither one of the vaccines is 100% effective. Both require repetitive immunisation since the effect of vaccines diminishes over time.
Washing your hands: Frequently washing your hands in hot, soapy water is the most ideal approach to control contamination. Wash before eating or cooking food and after using the toilet. Use a hand sanitiser in cases where water isn't accessible.
Drinking clean water: There are a few ways in which you can avoid getting typhoid fever spread by contaminated water.
Abstain from drinking untreated water.
Contaminated drinking water is a specific issue in areas where typhoid fever is endemic. Thus, drink only boiled or filtered water, or canned or packaged carbonated drinks.
Carbonated filtered water is more secure than non-carbonated filtered water.
Request drinks without ice.
Use filtered water to brush your teeth and try not to swallow water in the shower.
Clean water can get contaminated again in case it is not put away securely.
Store the clean drinking water in a container with a little opening and use it within four hours.
Staying away from raw fruits and vegetables: Maintain a strategic distance from crude foods grown in the ground. Since crude produce may have been washed away in water, maintain distance from products of the soil that you cannot peel, particularly lettuce. To be totally protected, you might need to stay away from street food completely.
Cooking: Pick hot foods. Keep away from food that is put away or served at room temperature. Steaming hot nourishments are ideal. Also, in spite of all precautions, there is no assurance that the food served at the finest restaurants is safe for your health. It is best to stay away from foods served by street side vendors. Completely cook all meats, fish and vegetables. Eat them while they are still hot.
Washing: Wash your dishes and utensils with proper dish washing soap and water. Wash your cutting board particularly well with a cleanser and water.
Peeling: Peeling fruits and vegetables protects you from typhoid. Eat natural products that have been freshly washed and peeled, for example, oranges and bananas.

Typhoid Fever - Follow These Steps and Prevent It!

Why it's important that your child's diet is calcium-rich

Calcium is an inevitable part of your child's diet. You cannot afford to skip it if you wish to maintain a healthy lifestyle for your child. It is recommended that children between the ages of 9 and 18 should get approximately 1300 milligrams of calcium every day. Calcium-rich diet is important for your child for a number of reasons.

Why calcium?

Calcium helps in building strong bones and teeth for your child.
It is important in order to ensure proper functioning of your child's muscles and nerves.
Calcium plays a vital role in the release of such hormones and enzymes in your child's body that convert the food he eats into energy.
It is also helpful in causing the blood to clot whenever your child gets bruised.
Since your child is continuously growing, a calcium-rich diet ensures an adequate supply of resources that help him to develop new bones that are healthy and strong.
A calcium-rich diet is also essential as far as other bodily functions like muscle contraction, blood vessel constriction and relaxation are concerned.
What does lack of a calcium do to your child's body?

Lack of calcium can cause bone diseases like osteoporosis in your girl child, thus exposing her to a greater risk of weakened bones and possibility of fractures.
If your child is a young kid and his diet lacks calcium or vitamin d, which absorbs calcium, he is exposed to the threats of the bone-softening disease called rickets. It can cause in him bowing of the legs, muscle pain and poor growth.
Bones are living tissues that change constantly, old bones keep getting replaced by newer ones and a calcium-rich diet aids this procedure. Therefore without an adequate supply of calcium, this process would borrow minerals from existing bones, thus weakening them and exposing them to increased risks of fracture.
Lack of calcium also increases risks of cardiovascular diseases, damaged gums, high blood pressure, ovarian and breast cancer and several other infirmities in your child in his later years.

Why it's Important That Your Child's Diet is Calcium-Rich

Seasonal changes can be very exciting for most people. Each season brings with it a new set of colours and nature takes a new turn. However, for people with seasonal allergies, a seasonal change also comes with a set of allergies. From skin rashes to wheezing to breathing difficulties, the list of symptoms can be quite long. Asthma is the most common problem, and the attacks can be quite bothersome with wheezing attacks and breathing troubles.

With advancements in the field of medicine, there is a lot of relief for asthma patients. A little understanding on how asthma attacks happen will help in understanding how to control it. Asthma is an allergic reaction caused by narrowing of the airway with thick mucus, which makes breathing difficult. During an attack, the person can have a dry cough, face shortness of breath and wheezing.

Asthma is often triggered or worsened by some factors, and being aware of these can help prevent or manage an attack:

Common allergens like pollen, mites, ticks, furs of animals, bird feathers, specific foods (peanuts, milk products, eggs, etc.) and mold spores appear during change of season.
Environmental chemicals like cigarette smoke, car fumes, dust, etc., can also trigger an attack.
Attacks of cold or flu can lead to an asthma attack.
Workout during cold weather can be problematic, but exercise can also help control asthma attacks. Lung function improves sufficiently, but an exercise regime should be drawn up for the patient based on his condition.
Stressful emotions like anger and anxiety can also lead to an attack or make it worse.
Some medications like aspirin, beta blockers, glaucoma drops can aggravate attacks of asthma.
Once you know the triggers, here are some common measures that can help prevent and relieve the wheezing.

The preventers reduce the inflammation in the airway tube and the swelling. While they do not provide immediate relief during an attack, using these in the long term helps avoid attacks. These are low-dose inhaled corticosteroids such as beclomethasone, fluticasone, and budesonide. Doctors would advise their usage even when there are no symptoms, as asthma attacks can be triggered when they are not taking these medications for a while. Newer drugs include leukotriene antagonists like montelukast and zafirlukast. Relievers are used for symptom relief and include Salbutamol (short acting) and Salmeterol/Formoterol (long acting). Peak flow meter may be useful in acute attacks, wherein the peak flow rates can be reduced.
A good strategy is to use preventers regularly and rely on relievers during an attack. The first one helps build resistance and so reduces the incidence of attacks. Reach out to a doctor if a severe attack ensues (lasts more than 3 hours).


Tips to Control Allergy Driven Wheezing this Season

All parents expect their child to start going to school, learn writing and learning and do well in academics. However, children with dyslexia may not be able to progress at school at the same pace as others. The good news is that there are early pointers that can help a parent to identify dyslexia in the early stages. This can be helpful in training and support the child socially to learn and socialise normally.  Dyslexia is a disability that affects both spoken and written language. They have a different learning style and when supported and encouraged, instead of mocked and insulted, they can become avid readers. The following are common 10 indicators of developing dyslexia in children, in general, and at school.

10 Behavioural signs to watch for in general:

The child usually has difficulty concentrating and following instructions
The child is easily distracted, seems to daydream, and tends to forget words.
Poor personal organisation skills and is not very good at time keeping.
May get confused between today, tomorrow, yesterday; east and west; right and left; up and down.
Has difficulty remembering seasons, months and days.
Tends to be doing something to avoid work.
Seems distracted, and  daydream,  does not seem to listen
Requires a lot of effort focusing on things at hand and is constantly tired.
Slow pace of processing in terms of spoken or written language
Often appears withdrawn or lost in his own world.
10 Behaviours to watch for at school:

Poor standard of writing and written work in comparison with oratory skills.
Poor handwriting with badly formed letters.
Confused easily between similar looking letters like m/w, n/u, b/d.
Usually, messes up work by using close but wrong spellings and rewriting the same
Mixes up words by using similar-looking words   quiet and quite, tired and tried.
Same word is spelt differently at different times
Poor motor skills and pencil grip leading to slow, inaccurate writing
Produces a lot of phonetic spelling which does not change with repeated corrections
There is difficulty in blending words together, and struggles a lot when asked to read out loud, can miss out or add words that are familiar in between
Has difficulty connecting the story that is being written or read
As noted, these children have very inconsistent behaviour with very limited understanding of nonverbal communication. If these symptoms go on increasing as they grow, it is advisable to seek professional help so that support can be provided and the condition can be arrested at the early stages.

Dyslexia - 10 Signs Your Child Maybe Suffering From It!

Growth hormone or somatropin is responsible for cell growth as well as reproduction. But insufficient somatropin production by the pituitary gland may result in lack in height. It is mostly caused by a serious brain injury, any prevalent medical condition or might occur as a birth defect.

Types
1. Congenital ghd - this form of ghd appears from at the time of birth itself.
2. Acquired ghd- ghd can be acquired during later life as a result of trauma, infection, tumor growth within the brain or radiation therapy.
3. Idiopathic ghd- idiopathic ghd is the third, and comparatively worst kind of ghd since it has no treatment.

Ghd is mostly permanent, but can also be transient. Read on to know how to detect whether you or your child is suffering from growth hormone deficiency (ghd).

Symptoms
Childhood onset
1. Restricted height- compared to other children of your child's age, he/she may be of shorter height, which is a rather conclusive sign to detect somatropin deficiency.
2. Chubby and comparatively younger appearance- your child may have a proportionate body, but if he/she is unnaturally chubby and has a baby-face compared to other children, he/she may be suffering from ghd.
3. Late puberty- your child's puberty maybe later than usual or even not appear at all, depending upon the gravity of the ghd.
4. Hypoglycemia and exaggerated jaundice- low blood sugar is amongst the most primary manifestations of ghd, along with extended duration of jaundice.
5. Micro-penis- micro penis condition is one of the incident signs of ghd, which later escalates to growth deficit as the infant gets older.

Adult onset
1. Fatigue- adults with ghd may experience extreme tiredness throughout the day, with reduced muscle strength.
2. Osteoporosis- osteoporosis, along with bodily deformities, is a common sign in adults with ghd.
3. Lipid abnormalities- a test of your lipid profile may reveal abnormalities in ldl cholesterol, insulin resistance, and impaired cardiac functions.

Tests to determine ghd
1. Physical test- a chart is drawn to determine the proportion of height and weight with respect to your age to detect anomalies.
2. Hand x-ray- a hand x-ray can determine whether the age of bones are at par with your age.
3. Mri-mri scan can determine the health of your brain and pituitary gland.
4. Test for other hormones- growth hormone may not be solely responsible for your health condition, so it is important to determine if other hormone levels are all normal.

Treatment
1. Hormone supplements- hormone supplements like corticosteroids (hydrocortisone or prednisone), levothyroxine (levoxyl, synthroid, etc), and others work to replenish the deficiency of pituitary hormones.
2. Growth hormone injection- gh is injected beneath your skin, to cure gdh. This is a long-term treatment and requires constant monitoring.

All About Growth Hormone Deficiency

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