Scabies is a contagious disease that is caused by small insects called mites, primarily the  human itch mite . Small blisters are formed along the trail where the mites lay the eggs. You may experience symptoms of intense itching at night. The usual spots where scabies usually tend to develop are the fingers, armpits, elbows and the inner thighs.

This disease can spread by touch; sharing toiletries or sleeping with an infected person all contribute to the spread of this disease. The eggs and the feces of the mites in the burrows of the skin are what cause the itching in scabies. The eggs and the feces usually trigger allergic reactions on the skin.

The various homeopathic treatments for scabies are:
1. Carbo-veg: This remedy is effective when you experience dry abrupt eruptions on the body. Symptoms of itching tend to aggravate at night, especially during undressing. There is usually a smelly discharge from the infected areas.
2. Arsenic album: This remedy is used to treat scabies eruptions which appear on the bends of the knees. The burning and itching sensations tend to worsen at night.
3. Causticum: This is used to treat symptoms of scabies which include wet pustules with foul smelling pus. In this case, the skin develops a yellowish hue along with the presence of warts. Coughing and sneezing can lead to involuntary urination.
4. Hepar sulph: Hepar sulph is used when symptoms of crusty pustules develop on the hands, folds of the skin and the feet. The skin becomes sensitive to cold weather and the pustules have a cheese like discharge.
5. Lycopodium: Lycopodium is used to treat symptoms of scabies that occur on the genitals, scalp and the abdomen. Exposure to anything warm can aggravate the condition and intensify the itching. The pustules are moist and yellowish brown in color. The itching usually subsides if the skin comes in contact with anything cold.

5 Common Homeopathic Remedies for Treating Scabies

Lactose intolerance is a condition wherein you are not able to digest lactose, which is a sugar found in milk. Other foods that contain lactose include cheese and ice-cream. Inadequate production of the lactase enzyme in children causes lactose intolerance. This enzyme is produced in the intestine that helps in the digestion of lactose.


Lactose intolerance is often confused with milk intolerance. The symptoms are similar but they do not share the same cause. Milk allergy is an adverse reaction towards milk and it is a problem of the immune system, whereas lactose intolerance involves the digestive system.


Symptoms-
The symptoms of lactose intolerance are:
Bloating; on consumption of milk over a period of time
Diarrhea is also very common
Stomach pain
Nausea


Diagnosis-
It is self -diagnosable; just strike out foods containing lactose from your child s diet and see if the symptoms get better with time. If the symptoms happen to fade away gradually, then it certainly must ve been lactose intolerance.
However, it can be tricky as many non-dairy products also contain lactose.
If the child is lactose intolerant, then he/she might have to undergo a lactose breath test. This is used to test the levels of hydrogen in the child s breath after the child consumes a lactose solution. Usually, hydrogen levels are low in one s breath. However, if the lactose solution is not digested properly, then it will lead to a temporary increase in the levels of hydrogen in the breath, thus indicating lactose intolerance.


Treatment-
This disorder does not have a cure; so in case your child has lactose intolerance, you need to adjust his/her diet accordingly. Over-the-counter lactase is also available that helps in digesting lactose based foods. You can also go for the  lactose- free  milk variety for your child.


Lactose Intolerance in Kids

Upper respiratory infection (URI) is a condition, which involves illness, mainly caused by critical infection in the upper respiratory tract. This region includes the pharynx, larynx, nose and sinus. This infection causes diseases, such as tonsillitis (tonsils get inflamed), pharyngitis (causes sore throat) sinusitis (nasal passage becomes inflamed), laryngitis (voice box in your throat gets inflamed) and common cold.

Causes of upper respiratory infection (URI):
1. Both virus and bacteria cause upper respiratory infection (URI). The most common form of virus causing this infection is known as 'rhinovirus.'

2. The immune system of young adults and children are often very vulnerable. Hence, they are more likely to develop upper respiratory tract infection.

3. URI is also contagious and airborne in nature. So if a person comes in contact with an infected person suffering from URI, he/she is likely to develop this infection.

4. Not washing hands before meals can also cause upper respiratory infection because the virus can be transferred easily to the mouth and can travel into your system.

5. If you have any lung problem or heart disease, you are more likely to be susceptible to upper respiratory infection.

6. Those who already have inflamed tonsils can trigger tonsillitis by drinking any cold or spicy beverage like ice-creams or cold milkshakes.

7. Exposure to some flu or cold can cause pharyngitis. It can also be caused by second hand smoking.

8. Birth defects or structural defects in the nasal cavity or nasal polyps can cause sinusitis. Sometimes the inside part of the nose may get swollen due to common cold and block your ducts. This is a common cause for sinusitis.

Symptoms of acute upper respiratory infection:
1. Congestion in the lungs or nasal area.
2. Whooping cough
3. Running nose due to common cold.
4. Feelings of fatigue and lethargy throughout the day.
5. Your body will start aching without engaging in any physical exercise.
6. You can also lose consciousness in severe respiratory tract infections.
7. Difficulty in breathing.
8. Oxygen levels in blood drop down drastically.

Sometimes in worse cases, acute upper respiratory tract infection (URI) can also cause respiratory failure, respiratory arrest and congestive heart failure. Therefore, it is necessary to book an appointment with a doctor as soon as you start experiencing the above symptoms.

Acute Upper Respiratory Infection: Causes and Symptoms

If your child has become increasingly addicted to sweets and other sugary items, this addiction can lead to certain behavioral problems (like mood swings, irritability, anger, etc) in children. Moreover, a high sugar intake can lead to your child falling prey to serious diseases and conditions, including diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. 

Here's what you can do to break your child's indulgent habits and wean him from ill-health causing culprits like cakes, ice creams, candies, chocolates and rich and creamy desserts etc.

1. Practice what you preach -
In order to develop healthy eating habits in your child, it is imperative for you as a parent to lead by example. When it comes to weaning your child from sugary foods and sweets, you yourself should limit your intake. So, if you tell your child to avoid sweets but love sweets yourself, you'd be setting a bad example by eating them yourself and not letting your child have them. The best thing to do is to be a role model to your child as children learn everything from their parents. 

2. Curb consumption of sugar by deferring intake to a later date -
Instead of depriving your child completely, it would prove to be more useful to tell them that they could have sweets on some other day. This is because if you deny him his indulgence, your child would invariably go on an eating spree the moment an opportunity arises. A study on a group of restrained eaters and non-diet individuals revealed that restrained eaters were found to consume more food than the non-dieting individuals. Not knowing when they could have their favourite foods again, they went on an eating spree.
Make frequent yet small offerings of sweets while explaining to him the importance of moderation and why he/she shouldn't overindulge but space out sugar intake.

3. Try the 90/10 rule - 
Teaching older children the 90/10 principle is another sure-shot way of breaking your child?'s addiction to sweets. The rule calls for 90% of the diet to be made up of healthy food with the remaining 10% being devoted to foods your child wants to indulge in such as junk food, sweets or foods with high sugar content. The total calorie intake that arises from consumption of about 10% or 1-2 fun foods is only about 100-200 calories everyday. 

4. Present your child with healthy alternatives to sugary items -
The next time your child wants to indulge in his sugar craving, instead of giving a processed sugary food, give healthier sweet foods like dates, honey or a fresh sweet fruit. 



4 Excellent Ways to Break Your Child's Addiction to Sweets

Parents are always concerned about their child's physical health, but often ignore their mental health. Along with physical well-being, your child's mental well-being is also equally important.

The following are eight tips to improve your child's mental well-being:

1. Adequate sleep- sufficient amount of sleep is required for a child to stay mentally fit. Parents often engage their children with various classes and activities and compromise on their sleeping hours. This in turn affects the child's mental state. Therefore, as a parent, you must take care not to compromise on your child's sleeping hours.

2. Allowing them to play- nowadays, children are overburdened with studies and other learning activities. They do not get to play quite often. But as a parent, you must take care of your child's schedule, so that he/she can have proper playtime too. Playing involves physical activity as well as creativity in certain cases. This helps to improve mental health.

3. Learning to share and care- you must take care to inculcate in your child the values of sharing and caring. These little things can also help improve your child's mental health. Learning how to share with others and caring for others will help them to stay happy.

4. Regular exercise- encouraging your child to regularly exercise will not only help improve his/her physical health, but also mental health. It will also help them to reduce stress and maintain a good mood as well.

5. Listen to them- parents often ignore when children are speaking on less important matters; may be about a new friend or a strict teacher in school. But as a parent, you must take out some time from your daily schedule to listen out to their stories. Listening to them attentively will make them feel important, increase their confidence and hence, improve their mental well-being.

6. Encourage them to make friends- encouraging your child to make new friends will help them to socialize better. They will feel confident about themselves and also open up. This can boost up their mental well-being.

7. Good nourishment- proper nourishment is not only essential for being physically fit, but also mentally fit. Good nourishment will help them stay healthy physically and increase their energy levels. This in turn will positively affect their mental health.

8. Make them feel safe- children need to feel safe in order to stay mentally fit. Try and spend some time with them every day. As a parent, always make your children realize that you are right beside them. Listen to their problems and help them find solutions to solve those instead of scolding them. Help them to relax and feel secure to stay mentally fit.

8 Tips to Improve Your Child's Mental Well-being

What Causes Early Childhood Trauma? + How to Identify this Condition?

The problem of early childhood trauma refers to disturbing experiences that take place in children during 0-6 years of age. The traumas that young children experience can be the effects of natural disaster, war or accidents or that of intentional violence like sexual abuse, domestic violence or physical abuse.

What Does this Condition Impact Childhood?

Traumatic events have a significant impact on your child's life and can break his sense of safety. The problem has been linked with a decrease in the size of the brain cortex. This is the part of the brain that controls several complex functions like thinking, consciousness, memory, attention, awareness, and language. The changes that occur as a result can affect your child's IQ as well as his or her ability to control emotions. As a consequence, he or she may harbor feelings of danger and become more afraid or it may manifest in other personality issues which are not very obvious.

How do you identify this condition?

Generally, children who suffer from traumas face problems in regulating their emotions and behaviors.

They may display signs like:

- Fear of new situations
- Being clingy to their parent(s) or somebody close
- Become easily frightened
- Display aggressive and/or impulsive behavior
- Are difficult to comfort
- Display deterioration in behavior and functioning
- Easily forget newly attained developmental skills
- Difficulty in sleeping

Depending on the age during which your child may go through a traumatic event, he or she can exhibit signs relevant to his or her age.

For instance:

Children aged 0-2 years may also display reactions like poor verbal skills, memory problems, excessive temper, experience nightmares, etc.

On the other hand, children aged 3-6 years can face difficulties in learning as well as develop poor skill and learning disabilities, face problems in social interaction, may be unable to trust people and so on.

If this condition remains unattended or unresolved for longer, it may create personality issues and can deeply impact the individual's relationships, or equations in the society, as they grow up and even after they become adults. In fact, many behavioral problems can be traced back to childhood trauma.



What Causes Early Childhood Trauma? + How to Identify this Condition?

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