Your hearing is one of the most important function your body carries out and sometimes you realize that you are losing your sense of hearing, when it is too late to get it back. There are two main reasons for this. One of the reason is age  and the other is when the inner ear's hair cells break down and do not pick up sound well. Here are 7 ways to safeguard your hearing.

1. Try to avoid loud places
It is not advisable to go to places where you have to shout to be heard, such as in a street, a concert or a construction site.

2. Buy low noise rating equipment
The equipments in your house will make sound that you hear the most. Try to avoid these equipments by buying appliances with a low noise rating.

3. Wear hearing protection at loud places
However, it is true that it is not always possible to avoid loud noises. This is when you need to get hearing protection. Earplugs and earmuffs are two of the best ways to make sure that even when you are in a loud place, your hearing does not get affected. Earplugs and earmuffs generally reduce sound by 15 to 30 decibels, which may be crucial to make sure that later in your life, you do not lose your hearing.

4. Avoid smoke
Smoking raises your chance of hearing loss. Second hand smoke does the same thing. Therefore, try to avoid, both smoking and secondhand smoking. 

5. Remove earwax properly
Earwax cannot be removed properly using a cotton swab. Instead, you should use an irrigation kit. Remember this as otherwise; the earwax could muffle your hearing.

6. Avoid medications which reduce hearing
Certain medications increase hearing loss. Therefore, double check with your doctor to make sure your medicines will not make you lose your hearing.

7. Get your hearing tested
Finally, get your hearing tested as identifying the problem early on can help stop worsen the situation.

7 Tips to Safeguard Your Hearing

Tooth eruption is not only a sign that your child is acquiring the ability to tear, bite, and chew food but it also effects the baby's weight gain, immunity strengthening and development of the brain indirectly.
It is observed that most babies get their first tooth at around 6 months after birth, but they may start gnawing as early as 3 months or as late as 14, and may vary from child to child.  This depends on many factors, one of them being as when the parents started sprouting teeth and whether or not your baby was a preemie. In case of premature and low birth weight babies there may be a delay in their first tooth eruption. Children should have a full set of primary teeth by the time they are almost three.
Babies generally undergo the following Teething Timeline:
6 months: lower central incisors
8 months: upper central incisors
10 months: lower and upper lateral incisors
14 months: first molars
18 months: canines
24 months: second molars
 Symptoms of Teething:
Babies start gnawing to relieve the pain of an emerging tooth.
Puffy and red gums
Excessive drooling
Irritation, especially at night
Tugging Ear
A change in eating habits
Methods to Soothe the Pain:
Teething is a physiological process, no major intervention is needed.
Distraction: You can often soothe your child simply by diverting their minds off the pain by any new toy.
You shouldn't use teethers and topical teething gels to soothe the pain as they might be toxic to babies.
Symptoms of teething usually disappear when the tooth breaks through the gum. In case your baby is teething and the pain prevails , the following signs and symptoms are seen - high fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, highly inflamed gums or blue gum (Cysts) or any kind of lesion or bumps on the gums. In such case you should consult the pediatrician for further guidance

When Will My Newborn Start Teething?

SSHL is not like any other normal hear-loss trouble. Rather it is quite a severe condition. Sudden deafness can occur at any time due to several reasons. This trouble does not affect both the ears rather only one specific ear is usually affected, and thus this is one of the prominent signs that can help the doctors to understand that SSHL has occurred. 


What are the leading causes of this hearing loss?

    Head injury: If you have faced any severe kind of head injury ever, then it might bring SSHL. This is why you are suggested to get necessary treatment on time so that this kind of hearing loss can be avoided.
    Loud-noise exposure: If your ears are exposed to louder noises or sounds in a consistent manner, then there is a greater possibility of the occurrence of this hearing loss. Thus, you should stay away from unwanted noises. 
    Ageing: With the increase in age, hearing power slowly decreases. However, if you take proper precautions from the very beginning, then SSHL can be definitely avoided. 
    Blood-circulation troubles: Interrupted blood-circulation creates different physical troubles out of which hearing loos is one of the most prominent one. And if timely treatment is not provided, then it might get converted into SSHL. 
    Ototoxic medication: This kind of medication should not be continued for long without doctor's prescription otherwise SSHL might occur. 
    Lyme disease: This is a kind of disease, which occurs due to tick bites and this is pretty infectious in nature. Apart from that, this disease is now considered as one of the main sources of SSHL. 

How to evaluate this hearing loss? 

    History analysis: The history of the patient needs to be known first otherwise SSHL cannot be perfectly treated. If the history shows that the patient already has an existing trouble of ear loss for which SSHL has been proven, then in accordance with the same the treatment can be prescribed. 
    Laboratory and imaging: Laboratory analysis is one of the main methods for evaluating SSHL and necessary images of the ears boost the potentiality and importance of this kind of analysis to a great extent. 
    Quick evaluation: This kind of medical evaluation is mainly made on the basis of the symptoms. The doctors often follow the signs thoroughly in order to determine as to whether the patients have SSHL or not. This evaluation is highly supported by different medical tests that are prescribed by the doctor.

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Causes and Evaluation

If you are experiencing a whizzing sound while you breathe or having difficulty in breathing, you are suffering from asthma. It is a medical condition characterized by paroxysmal wheezing respiration dyspnoea. There is no definite way to prevent asthma, but by following a step-by-step daily plan, you can prevent asthma attacks or keep them in check. Here are some important measures to follow to prevent asthma:

You need to strictly follow your asthma action plan. The plan should be laid down after a detailed discussion with your doctor or healthcare team. All the medicines you require to prevent the asthma attacks will be written down for you.
You should get vaccinated for pneumonia and influenza. This will prevent these conditions from triggering asthma attacks or flare-ups.
You need to identify the asthma triggers and stay away from them. Several outdoors irritants and allergens from pollen to cold air can trigger asthma attacks.
You have to monitor your breathing. By recognising the warning signs of an attack like wheezing, slight coughing or shortness of breath, you can prevent an asthma attack. You need to measure and record your peak airflow regularly using a home peak flow meter.
By acting quickly, you can identify a fatal attack and prevent it from occurring. When the peak flow measurement decreases, you need to take your medicines immediately and abstain from any activity which may have triggered the attack.
You need to keep taking your prescribed medicines, even if your asthma symptoms have improved. You should not change your medication schedule without consulting a doctor. It is recommended that you to bring along the medicines you take at your doctor s appointment as he will be able to tell whether you are taking them right.
If you use your quick relief inhaler a lot, the asthma is not under control. You need to visit your doctor as soon as possible and he/she will make some modifications to your treatment.
For prevention of asthma, you should use allergy proof pillow covers and mattresses. You must wash your bedding every week in hot water to eliminate dust mites. You may use a dehumidifier for reducing excess moisture to prevent mold.
Do not allow your pets in the bedroom and on the furniture. Pet dander is a common trigger of asthma and it cannot be avoided by people who own pets.
You can also fit an air filtration system in your home. It will help in the elimination of asthma triggers such as pollen, dust mites and other allergens.
Many doctors suggest immunotherapy for asthma prevention in the form of allergy shots. Immunotherapy aims at altering a person s immune response by making it less sensitive to asthma triggers.

Asthma - 10 Ways to Keep it Under Control

Your mother has often yelled at you for playing video games for long hours but obviously you haven t paid heed to it. Such is the obsession with video games that they don t let you rest unless you have championed all the levels in the virtual interface. Here is the source of all problems. Studies have revealed that video games have a direct relation to neurological disorders. As a result, many health experts across the world consider video game as a kind of health abuse.

People who play action-oriented video games are at higher risks. The more you indulge in these kinds of games, the more they are going to affect the hippocampus section of your brain. It is that part of the brain which is considered to be the centre of your nervous system, memory, and emotion. This has a detrimental effect on your overall brain health.

Let us see some of the signs which may indicate the onset of certain complications arising from an over indulgence in these games.
1. You spend hours on the computer or related gaming devices and devote lesser hours for your family and friends.
2. You get agitated when someone stops you midway through the game
3. You become socially isolated and show signs of occasional mood swings
4. You are unable to keep a track of time once you start playing
5. You repeatedly neglect your studies, resulting in a dip in performance at school

Why does this happen?
All of the above signs indicate that sooner or later you might develop neurological problems. When you spend an excessive number of hours on playing and navigating through the games, the  hippocampus  portion of your brain shows signs of decreased gray matter. As a result, the volume of the hippocampus shrinks, causing severe nerve related disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer s disease, dementia, depression, and overall general stress.

One of the biggest reasons behind this is a lack of self-control. Most of the video games will encourage you to steal cars, run away after a theft and kill your enemies. Moreover, if you succeed, you are rewarded. This naturally unleashes a blatant urge for the gratification of all these awkward desires in your real life too. Hence, once you are encountered with the reality, you tend to show violent behavior.

Video Games and Neurological Problems Associated with Them

Fever in children is a very common phenomenon, but still parents absolutely dread it. It can completely break your heart to suddenly see a happy, healthy child not getting up from the bed. Your first instinct when that thermometer crosses that dreaded 100 degrees F is to rush to the doctor for an immediate cure. That is probably the best remedy as a doctor can often catch additional signs of any disease that you may miss out on. Beyond that, here is how you can understand about fever in children better and how you can help. Technically, your child has fever when the body temperature crosses 100.4 degrees F.
 
Some children manage to stay active even then, but slowly get bogged down with muscle pain or other accompanying symptoms like cold, diarrhea, vomiting etc.
 
Causes: Fever is normally caused by the body's reaction to fighting an infection. (That is why most doctors say it's a sign of a robust immune system). When the body's natural defense system is stimulated, the core inner temperature rises, thereby making it harder for the bacteria and viruses that caused the infection to survive. Most fever subside on their own but that's a tough thing to accept as a parent who only wants to see their child up and running as soon as possible.
 
What you can do: Keep an eye on that temperature obviously. You need to find a doctor the moment the fever crosses the threshold temperature (101+ for less than three months olds, 102+ for 3-6 month olds and over 102 for older children). You should also see a doctor if there are accompanying symptoms or if you've given a dose of Paracetamol but the fever shows no sign of subsiding. It might happen at midnight and beyond, when no regular pediatrician is unavailable. So it is best to find out which hospital has an emergency center capable of handling such eventualities near your home.
 
Fever medications: It is super important for parents to know that fever medications must be given in the correct dose at the right times based on a child's weight, age, and overall health. An overdose can lead you straight to the emergency room. Don't mix a cold/cough medication that also has a fever medication in it.
 
Home remedies: Encourage your child to drink as much fluids as possible to prevent dehydration. Some doctors advise complete body sponging to bring down the temperature and this can be done as long as it doesn't cool the body too suddenly (there are contradictory notes on this practice, so do consult you doctor before your do this).
 
As parent, it is important you equip yourself with the right knowledge before you provide treatment to your child. 

Parenting Tips for Fever in Children

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