Abnormal EKG Readings

An electrocardiogram or ‘EKG’ is a device used to monitor an individual’s heart rate ad is used in order to screen to for potential heart problems. For instance if you have a family history of heart disease, then an EKG might be recommended as part of an annual exam in order to make sure that you are showing no warning signs. Of course then, fluctuations in your heart beat will be reflected in your EKG and this can potentially point to a range of potential problems.

Among the problems that an abnormal EKG reading might suggest are:

• Myocardial defects

• Enlargement of the heart

• Inflammation of the heart

• High blood pressure

• High cholesterol

• Coronary artery disease

• Previous heart attacks

• Impending heart attacks

• Arrhythmia

• Heart disease

• And many others…

Once your doctor has noticed an abnormal heartbeat they will then be able to carry out further tests to ascertain whether there is cause for concern and what the cause of the heartbeat irregularity might be. It is important that patients try to remain relaxed while they get an EKG reading as nerves can cause muscle trembling, increased heart rate and contractions which can interfere with the reading. Some heart conditions can cause the heart rate to alter intermittently meaning that an EKG might not pick it up. If a doctor suspects you have a heart condition that hasn’t been picked up by EKG, then they might suggest a Holter monitor which will be worn for 24-48 hours and will allow the patient to continuously record their heart rate.

In some cases an abnormal EKG reading is nothing to worry about and many different things can cause a high or low readout – for instance a temporary dip in blood sugar or a sudden source of stress. However doctors will normally explore the cause further in order to ensure you have a healthy heart before they let you loose back into the world.

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Pre-Diabetes Diagnosis for Overweight Children

Experts on childhood obesity have found that obese children under 12 years have higher risk of getting diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and liver diseases. Because, today’s children tend to have higher weight, it may mean that the current generation will have a slightly lower life expectancy than previous generations.

More than fifteen percent of children and teens (between 6 and 19 years old) in United States tend to be overweight. The percentage has more than doubled since 1970’s. A child who can’t reduce their weight to a normal BMI (Body Mass Index) by 8 years old, have higher risk of becoming obese adults. It is important that children know they are obese or overweight.

For children, using body mass index (BMI) is still a good way to determine whether they are overweight. However, the problem is a lot more complex than with adults, because children are growing.

Your child is considered normal, if she is between 5th and 84th percentile. Children are considered overweight if their body mass index is between 85th and 94th percentile. And obesity is often defined with BMI equal to or higher than the 95th. You should also take into account age, gender, and height.

If your child is moderately overweight, eventually she may get a normal body weight during adolescence, because she gets taller. But in some cases she won’t and it means there should be some changes in her lifestyle. You need to check her weight periodically to see whether she gains weight too much. This information may help you determine what step you should do. If your child is overweight now, you shouldn’t wait, start to encourage appropriate changes in lifestyle immediately.

For an obese child, you have to find out whether she has pre-diabetes signs. After you get an accurate diagnosis, your next step is to develop an action plan.

Diagnosing pre-diabetes signs in children is usually similar to adults:

• Fasting blood glucose: Your child’s blood glucose level is determined after an overnight fasting. A good test results should be below 100 mg/dL.

• Glucose challenge: Your child’s blood glucose level is determined two hours after taking a dose of glucose. A good test results should be below 140 mg/dL. How much glucose your child should get when taking this test? For each kilogram of body weight, she needs to drink 1.75g of glucose. For example, your child weighs about 40 kilograms, then she needs to get 70g of glucose.

Many experts believe that fasting blood glucose test may have less accuracy than glucose challenge test. A few doctors also indicate that glycated hemoglobin test is a good tool to diagnose pre-diabetes signs in children. Glycated hemoglobin of 6 to 6.5 percent can be considered as a good pre-diabetes diagnosis. (6 percent is comparable to 140 mg/dL of blood glucose level.)

If your child is diagnosed with pre-diabetes, what you should do next?

• Sit down and talk with child why it is necessary to make a few changes in her lifestyle and diet habits to prevent future disease. This step is critical, because if your child cannot be in the same page, you will encounter plenty of resistances.

• Start with daily exercise program. Do not just tell her to do it, you need to accompany her and make an example. It will be good for your child’s health and your relationship. Your child should have about 30 minutes of high-intensity exercise each day. Even better would be one-hour-a-day program, you should also include some resistance exercises every 3 days.

• Keep your children active. Limit television, computers, mobile phones, and video games usages. You can exclude the time she needs to do her homework on the computer.

• Stop visiting fast food and buffet restaurant. You can return to these places once in awhile when weight problems are under control.

• Reduce the amount of animal protein. Replace it when plant protein for example, soybeans. Too much animal protein and saturated fat in meat may promote obesity.

• Avoid processed meat products. This includes sausages and luncheon meat, they often have added chemicals, such as preservatives and food colorings.

• Try to introduce as many vegetables and fruits varieties as possible. The sooner you introduce healthy diet, the more likely your children will enjoy eating vegetables and fruits.

These are some ideas in preparing healthy diet for your children:

• Gradually reduce carbohydrate-rich foods, such as milk shakes, lasagna, soup, and muffins, replace them with fruits and vegetable.

• Replace soft drinks with fruit juice.

• Mix yogurt with chopped fruit and nuts.

• Replace sweets with nuts and low-sugar dried fruit.

• Stir fry vegetables with a little olive oil.

• Go to the nearest farmers market and allow your child choose the vegetables and fruits she wants to eat.

• Rice, potatoes, and corn are not vegetables. Your children should eat less of them.

• Eat your vegetables. Your child will eventually imitate you.

• Be creative, you can’t expect your child to eat a lump of boiled spinach happily. Find simple and tasty vegetables recipes online.

For a child, a vegetable serving is usually smaller than for adults. A five years old child should get 5 tablespoons of vegetables each day (not five tomatoes). After your child reaches 8 years old, she should get at least half a cup of cooked vegetables and one cup of fruit each day.

Experts on childhood obesity have found that obese children under 12 years have higher risk of getting diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and liver diseases. Because, today’s children tend to have higher weight, it may mean that the current generation will have a slightly lower life expectancy than previous generations.

More than fifteen percent of children and teens (between 6 and 19 years old) in United States tend to be overweight. The percentage has more than doubled since 1970’s. A child who can’t reduce their weight to a normal BMI (Body Mass Index) by 8 years old, have higher risk of becoming obese adults. It is important that children know they are obese or overweight.

For children, using body mass index (BMI) is still a good way to determine whether they are overweight. However, the problem is a lot more complex than with adults, because children are growing.

Your child is considered normal, if she is between 5th and 84th percentile. Children are considered overweight if their body mass index is between 85th and 94th percentile. And obesity is often defined with BMI equal to or higher than the 95th. You should also take into account age, gender, and height.

If your child is moderately overweight, eventually she may get a normal body weight during adolescence, because she gets taller. But in some cases she won’t and it means there should be some changes in her lifestyle. You need to check her weight periodically to see whether she gains weight too much. This information may help you determine what step you should do. If your child is overweight now, you shouldn’t wait, start to encourage appropriate changes in lifestyle immediately.

For an obese child, you have to find out whether she has pre-diabetes signs. After you get an accurate diagnosis, your next step is to develop an action plan.

Diagnosing pre-diabetes signs in children is usually similar to adults:

• Fasting blood glucose: Your child’s blood glucose level is determined after an overnight fasting. A good test results should be below 100 mg/dL.

• Glucose challenge: Your child’s blood glucose level is determined two hours after taking a dose of glucose. A good test results should be below 140 mg/dL. How much glucose your child should get when taking this test? For each kilogram of body weight, she needs to drink 1.75g of glucose. For example, your child weighs about 40 kilograms, then she needs to get 70g of glucose.

Many experts believe that fasting blood glucose test may have less accuracy than glucose challenge test. A few doctors also indicate that glycated hemoglobin test is a good tool to diagnose pre-diabetes signs in children. Glycated hemoglobin of 6 to 6.5 percent can be considered as a good pre-diabetes diagnosis. (6 percent is comparable to 140 mg/dL of blood glucose level.)

If your child is diagnosed with pre-diabetes, what you should do next?

• Sit down and talk with child why it is necessary to make a few changes in her lifestyle and diet habits to prevent future disease. This step is critical, because if your child cannot be in the same page, you will encounter plenty of resistances.

• Start with daily exercise program. Do not just tell her to do it, you need to accompany her and make an example. It will be good for your child’s health and your relationship. Your child should have about 30 minutes of high-intensity exercise each day. Even better would be one-hour-a-day program, you should also include some resistance exercises every 3 days.

• Keep your children active. Limit television, computers, mobile phones, and video games usages. You can exclude the time she needs to do her homework on the computer.

• Stop visiting fast food and buffet restaurant. You can return to these places once in awhile when weight problems are under control.

• Reduce the amount of animal protein. Replace it when plant protein for example, soybeans. Too much animal protein and saturated fat in meat may promote obesity.

• Avoid processed meat products. This includes sausages and luncheon meat, they often have added chemicals, such as preservatives and food colorings.

• Try to introduce as many vegetables and fruits varieties as possible. The sooner you introduce healthy diet, the more likely your children will enjoy eating vegetables and fruits.

These are some ideas in preparing healthy diet for your children:

• Gradually reduce carbohydrate-rich foods, such as milk shakes, lasagna, soup, and muffins, replace them with fruits and vegetable.

• Replace soft drinks with fruit juice.

• Mix yogurt with chopped fruit and nuts.

• Replace sweets with nuts and low-sugar dried fruit.

• Stir fry vegetables with a little olive oil.

• Go to the nearest farmers market and allow your child choose the vegetables and fruits she wants to eat.

• Rice, potatoes, and corn are not vegetables. Your children should eat less of them.

• Eat your vegetables. Your child will eventually imitate you.

• Be creative, you can’t expect your child to eat a lump of boiled spinach happily. Find simple and tasty vegetables recipes online.

For a child, a vegetable serving is usually smaller than for adults. A five years old child should get 5 tablespoons of vegetables each day (not five tomatoes). After your child reaches 8 years old, she should get at least half a cup of cooked vegetables and one cup of fruit each day.

By Christopher Jacoby 

 

Treating ADHD the Natural Way

There is no correlation between people suffering from ADHD and their accomplishments in life. Albert Einstein, Nelson Rockefeller, Galileo, and Thomas Edison are just some of the few famous people who suffer with ADHD.

ADHD can be treated with new drug called Focalin XR. ADHD is more prevalent in boys than girls. There are three types of ADHD, namely predominantly inattentive type, predominantly hyperactive/ impulsive type and a combination of both.

As the name implies, the predominantly inattentive type has symptoms of inattention i.e. absentmindedness, distractibility, a short attention span, and difficulty organizing things. The person suffering from predominantly hyperactive / impulsive ADHA has symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity i.e. unable to be seated in one place for a prolonged period, difficulty for waiting his/her turn. In the combined type, both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity is observed.

After dinner walks, playing in the yard and other outside activities reduces ADHD symptoms. Your diet is also a factor in treating ADHD symptoms. The brand of cookie, potato chip, and ice cream you select in the grocery shop, and the vegetable or fruit you prefer will have a direct effect on your health, ability, and behavior. The products you buy in the grocery shop may contain some chemicals that activate irritability or hyperactivity.

The holistic approach with naturopathic drugs proved to be more effective than the strong and addictive psychiatric drugs (Ritalin, Concerta, and Adderall) in the ADHD treatment. The herbal remedies are used to treat the symptoms gently and effectively.

Common herbal remedies for the treatment of ADHD are Ginkgo biloba, Scuttellaria laterifolia (skull cap), Matricaria recutita (German chamomile), Centella asiatica (Gotu cola) Avina sativa (Green oats), Utrica urens (Umbabazane in Africa) and Aspalathus linearis (Rooibos). A natural remedy is less detrimental to your overall health than that of prescription drugs. Children who are using psychiatric drugs such as Ritalin, Concreta and Adderall may develop an addiction and other side effects to their health.

People with ADHD may have other related conditions such as learning disorders, ophthalmic convergence insufficiency, conduct disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. ADHD patients are more likely to have a family member with ADHD or one of the related conditions, implying that ADHD may be genetic.

Toddler Stuttering Causes and Therapy

Many parents are completely baffled when they hear their toddlers stuttering and stammering when trying to communicate. It may be especially noticeable when the child is overly excited, tired or frustrated, but they may still have difficulty when speaking in a non-agitated state. This should really not give cause for alarm because approximately 5% (that’s one in 20!) of toddlers do go through a stuttering stage which they will probably outgrow quite quickly. If you have a child who has difficulty speaking and you notice an inordinate amount of stuttering the following information may prove to be helpful.

Causes for Stuttering in Small Children

Contrary to popular belief, parents do not cause children to stutter. It would take a very rare, very abusive parent to create that type of reaction in a small child. In fact, most toddlers stammer quite a bit as they are learning to master the intricacies of language. You will probably hear a whole bunch of ‘uh’s’ and ‘ah’s’ along the way. This is quite normal developmentally as a child is still learning to put words together into cohesive thought sequences. However, some children do begin stuttering in the true sense of the word with the initial sound of a word being uttered over and over again until finally the rest of the word pops out. This may be a temporary phase and nothing to be overly concerned with unless the ‘problem’ continues and/or gets worse. At that point the best therapy would be to bring your child to a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT). In other words, it is common for toddlers to stutter when learning to talk.

How to React When a Toddler Stutters

When a toddler is stuttering and having difficulty getting his/her point across the best advice would be don’t react! As a parent we are tempted to ‘fill in the blanks’ and help our children out. We see that they are in some amount of distress when they can’t get their point across and it is our normal reaction to help them out. Parents, be advised that this is one of the worst things you can do. It is better to sit patiently while allowing your child to work it out alone. Don’t try to hurry the process along and by all means don’t act impatient! Keep a relaxed and pleasant look on your face so that your child feels comfortable when talking to you. Remember, any stress can compound the problem so it is the best therapy to help your child stay relaxed when talking. Whether your toddler’s stuttering needs professional therapy or not bear in mind that impatience can often compound the problem.

At-Home Therapy for Toddlers Who Stutter

As mentioned, the best thing to do is just relax in order to give you child the confidence needed to learn the art of communication. Following that, here are some pointers provided by Speech and Language Therapists that can provide at-home therapy and encouragement for toddlers who stutter.

• Talk to your child in slow, even tones of voice. Even though you may be in a hurry, slow down so your child won’t go into overdrive trying to keep up the conversational pace.

• Instead of correcting your toddler, you may simply want to repeat the word or sentence calmly as it should have been stated. Do not imply that the child said it wrong. Just repeat the sentence (or word) as naturally as possible so your toddler can hear what it should sound like.

• Don’t allow anyone to interrupt your child when he or she is having difficulty getting the words out. As a parent it is our responsibility to see that others respect our wishes. You want your child to be comfortable talking to everyone, not just mom and dad, so make sure friends and family allow your child the time to complete his or her thought independently.

• Make time each and every day for calm and leisurely one-on-one time talking to your child. This is your ‘special time’ that is reserved for your toddler so that you can carry on a slow and relaxed conversation. This is the best therapy for a child who stutters because it provides a daily ‘practice session’ while giving you time to spend with your child unencumbered by outside concerns. This is the very best confidence boosting treatment of all!

• Finally, as mentioned above, don’t let frustration show on your face. Stay as relaxed as possible and please ask all family members to do the same. The worst thing you can do is add to the stress your toddler is already experiencing when stuttering and stammering.

As you can see, stress seems to be the number one trigger that either leads to stuttering or exacerbates stuttering if it is already an issue. At-home therapy revolves around helping your toddler communicate in an environment which allows him or her to remain calm with enough time to ‘get it out.’

Think about this for just a moment. How many times have you been rushed by a boss, a spouse or even a child to come up with an answer in a split second? Don’t you find yourself at a loss for words? Now imagine how much more difficult it is for a small child who hasn’t yet mastered the art of language! Some amount of stuttering is normal in toddlers so keep that in mind before assuming that your child will grow up with a speech impediment. If it doesn’t resolve itself naturally as the child nears the end of the ‘toddler stage,’ perhaps it’s time to get some professional therapy. Until then, stay calm and listen to what your child is saying. You just might notice that what you thought to be a stuttering problem is resolving itself quite naturally!

By Elizabeth Danish

Do you know how to keep yourself dehydrated?

What is Dehydration?
Dehydration occurs when your body loses too much fluid. This can happen when you stop drinking water or lose large amounts of fluid through diarrhea, vomiting, sweating, or exercise. Not drinking enough fluids can cause muscle cramps and may make you feel faint.

Usually your body can reabsorb fluid from your blood and other body tissues. But by the time you become severely dehydrated, you no longer have enough fluid in your body to get blood to your organs, and you may go into shock, which is life-threatening condition.

Dehydration In Babies and Small Children
Babies and small children have an increased chance of becoming dehydrate because of the following:

– A greater portion of their bodies is made of water.
– Children have a high metabolic rate, so their bodies use more water.
– A child’s kidneys do not conserve water as well as an adult’s kidney.
– A child’s natural defenses system that helps fight infection (immune system)
   is  not fully developed, which increases the chance of getting an illness 
  that causes vomiting and diarrhea.
– Children often will not drink or eat when they are not feeling well.

Personal Assistance Service

How would you feel if you or your loved ones could not handle the basic needs in life such as eating, bathing or dressing. Do you know someone who is in that situation and need help with their daily tasks. Most people prefer to be able to control their own needs and be able to pay their own bills. We can help those individuals maintain their independence in their own home. National Nursing & Rehab offers Personal Assistance Services.

Whats is personal assistance service?
It is a non medical hourly service to help seniors with daily living and keep them independent at home. These services include custodial care, light house keeping, meal preparation, transportation, over night sitters and other services that are non-medical.

Who can benefit from Personal Assistance Service?

•  People with disabilities
• People recuperating from an illness, injury, or surgery
• People who wish to maintain independence at home

 

What are the benefits for people receiving Personal Assistance Services?

•  People can maintain a higher level of independence in the comfort of their own home
• Peace of mind to family friends
• Individualized Care Plans

 

 

How to Deal With Allergy at School?

As you are preparing for a new year at school through catching up with friends and clothes shopping, you may find it harder to concentrate on preparing for school allergy treatment plan. High school students could be more concerned with dating, sports, friendships, and picking classes than remembering to carry their inhaler or EpiPen, but you must understand that unless your allergy is well-controlled, it will interfere with your effort in study and being fully active at school. That’s why an easy-to-follow, effective allergy emergency plan is very important, both for you and those around you at school. One thing to remember is that you’re not alone. Many teens in public and private schools must deal with the threat of allergy every day, and you may find a few of them at your school.

Keep in mind that the best line of defense is to carry your medications anywhere at all times and making sure your surroundings is allergen-free. Before your first day at school, you should ask your parent to talk with school principal, teachers, cafeteria staff and school nurse. Make sure your parent explain medications you need to school nurse and dietary limitations to cafetaria staffs. Ask the principal whether there is a special policy on what to be performed before carrying and taking your medications at school. For example, in New York City, you are required to sign Form 504 before bringing any medication (including aspirin) to school.

Luckily, there is law that supports children and teenagers with allergy. Under the Law 504, students with allergies can’t be discriminated against, the law also requires that they to be fully accommodated at school. The law specifies that your classrooms should be near the school clinic and the nurse is capable in administering the right medication. If you are far from the clinic, you are permitted to carry medications with you.

If you have to carry epinephrine (Twinject or EpiPen), because there is a risk of severe allergy to insect stings or food, you are legally permitted to have the right medications in your backpack, pocket, or purse. It is recommended that only older responsible students may carry epinephrine with them, and teachers must be trained in administering the drug if students can’t do it for themselves. It is advisable to bring instructions for EpiPen or Twinject in your backpack or purse near the drug, so your friends and teachers can have a good idea on what they should do during an emergency. Students that need asthma inhaler are allowed to carry it with them if they can show a letter of approval from the doctor. Teenager with asthma should have the right and the opportunity to access their rescue medications at all times.

Carrying medications and action plan doesn’t make you exempt in taking some precautions, however. You may think that since you’re armed with an inhaler or an EpiPen, you have the same freedoms as normal students. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Although you have developed a good action plan and are carrying enough medication, it is important to avoid certain high-risk scenarios. For example, students with peanut allergy shouldn’t sit at a crowded table along with people who may not be aware of how peanuts can be life-threatening to you. Or if you are allergic to insect stings, you should be careful about playing with friends in places where insects’ nests lie, like in the school park. The more you take unnecessary risks, the more likely things can go wrong. Because many students at high school change classes regularly, it is a good idea to carry multiple Twinjects or EpiPens at school. Carry one in your bag, purse, or the backpack. If you are not carrying a bag, you should put a Twinject or EpiPen in your pocket. Wearing cargo pants is a good idea for boys who do not like to carry a bag. Always keep one in the locker as a backup, and if your teacher agrees, you should ask him to keep a Twinject or EpiPen in his desk as well, so if you or your classmate can have an immediate access to medication during an allergy attack. If possible ask your bus driver to keep one in the bus as well.

In addition to adults at school, ask classmates and friends to watch for your condition. You shouldn’t be embarrassed with your condition; plenty of students have allergies and your friends will probably be happy to help you whenever they can.

When you have an allergy attack at school, always be cautious in what you’re doing. If you can, give yourself a Twinject or an EpiPen shot the moment you are experiencing the symptom. The only possible epinephrine side effect is faster heartbeat, so it won’t be dangerous if it turns out that it is a false alarm. Make sure you ask your friends to do the same thing, if they think you are suffering in any way, they must give you an immediate shot, no questions asked!

 

 

Treating Exercise-Induced Asthma

Certainly, the advantages of regular physical activities often outweigh the risks related with exercise-induced asthma, if you follow your doctor’s advices. Every child with EIA must have a definite asthma action plan to get the necessary guidelines when an asthma flare strikes. Ideally, it will help you avoid asthma flares, live a pleasurable life, and have the activities you enjoy, while having near-normal lung functions.

Treating exercise-induced asthma revolves around preventing asthma flares. There is no way to treat exercise-induced asthma, however certain medications may help you manage the disorder symptoms, because exercise-induced asthma is triggered by the same airway reactions found in regular asthma. If patients take prescribed drugs as directed, you could perform an exercise without worsening your symptoms. Even Olympic athletes with EIA can compete well at the international matches with appropriate medication. In fact, many people can manage asthma completely while taking part in sport activities if they work together with their health advisors and follow their treatment regimens carefully. Certainly, just because those with asthma can be highly successful, it doesn’t mean you should ignore your conditions. If your asthma symptoms aren’t well controlled, they can hinder your overall performance.

Many asthma patients with active lifestyle take inhaled maintenance drugs to help keep their asthma severity low. But often, maintenance treatments alone aren’t sufficient to offer complete control of EIA, especially if patients are very active or if you are exposed to allergens or air pollution as you work out.

In this case, you need to take an emergency inhaled bronchodilator and use it for every 15 to 30 minutes before an exercise to prevent narrowing airways. This is known as pretreatment, and it may help you participate comfortably in exercise or sports. Many athletes believe that taking this medication right before an intense physical activity and using deep breathing methods can control asthma symptoms during an exercise. Most doctors prescribe these medications for EIA pre-treatment:

Inhaled corticosteroids: Those with EIA may find that inhaled corticosteroids won’t help when taken before an exercise. However, researches suggest that certain inhaled corticosteroids such as fluticasone (Flovent) or budesonide (Pulmicort) may help them in the long run. Starting on periodical schedules of inhaled corticosteroids could be effective when used in conjunction with beta 2-agonists.

Beta 2-agonist (inhaled and short-acting): Using pirbuterol (Maxair) or albuterol (Ventolin, Proventil), half-hour before an exercise may prevent contracted airways for about five hours. These drugs can be effective in up to 90 percent of asthma cases and may relieve any EIA symptom.

Long-acting bronchodilators: Occasionally, your doctor could prescribe a drug to control asthma symptoms for about 12 hours, such as formoterol (Foradil), salmeterol (Serevent Diskus) or other controller drugs (inhaled steroids). In school, a child can participate actively in gym class and other physical activities without using numerous short-acting sprays. However, it is still important to have a short-acting bronchodilator around in case symptoms abruptly appear.

Mast-cell stabilizers: Drugs like nedocromil sodium (Tilade) or cromolyn sodium (Intal) are occasionally used as pre-treatment. They shouldn’t be used to treat chronic symptoms, but when taken about ten minutes before physical exercise, they may prevent an occurrence of asthma symptoms up to 90 percent on patients with exercise-induced asthma.

Leukotriene modifiers: Some long-term control medication, such as zafirlukast (Accolate) or montelukast sodium (Singulair) can prevent exercise-induced asthma in many patients by reducing effects of allergy triggers.

Warming-up and cooling-down period: A warm-up period before an exercise may ease the tight chest that happens during or after exercise. You should try to spend about thirty minutes for a warm-up period. By having a good preparation, you can avoid asthma symptoms that often occur after just fifteen minutes of exercise.

When you are finished exercising, try to cool down slowly instead of stopping abruptly. You may need a 30-minute cool-down period, by performing stretching to prevent the sudden change temperature of air in the lungs and avoid the occurrence of EIA symptoms after an exercise.

There are a few things you should do to help avoid EIA flares:

Drink water. Don’t forget to drink enough of water when exercising, especially if the temperature is high. Aim for drinking at least 8 ounces of water before an exercise, and add another 8 ounces every half an hour during an exercise.

Stay healthy. Try to do your best to avoid flu and other respiratory problems (wash your hands frequently during flu and cold season, eat organic foods, and get plenty of rest), also avoid strenuous exercises when you are not feeling well.

Humidity is good. When you are exercising, choose a clean, humid environment; dry, cold air could worsen your symptoms.

Deal with your allergies. If allergies aggravate your asthma, avoid allergens and use allergy medication while exercising.

Breathe properly. To keep cold, dry air from going into your lungs, read instructions on how to breathe properly through your pursed lips or through nose even during a heavy exercise.

By Christopher Jacoby 

ADD Stimulant Medications: Are They the Best ADD Treatments?

Although there is controversy surrounding them, stimulants are still the most commonly prescribed type of medication for children with ADD and ADHD. The Drug Enforcement Agency says that stimulant drug production has increased 500 percent since 1991, and over half of the prescriptions for them are written by pediatricians.

Stimulants are often effective in treating many of the symptoms of ADD — but are they the best ADD treatment for your child? Many parents are concerned about the side effects stimulants can produce and choose to investigate other options like behavioral therapy and herbal supplements as well. When it comes to making a decision that affects your child’s health, having the facts is essential.

ADD stimulant medications work by increasing the levels of the chemicals epinephrine and norepinephrine in the brain, which helps the brain to transmit signals between nerves. This improves a child’s (or adult’s) ability to pay attention for extended periods of time. But these medications also come with a risk of mild and serious side effects. Some of the most common side effects include headaches, upset stomach and increased blood pressure, all of which may diminish as the body adjusts after the first few weeks of treatment. Other common side effects include decreased appetite (80% of stimulant users report this), nervousness and sleeplessness. Research has also shown that stimulants can stunt growth during treatment, but have not been proven to affect final height. Less common but more serious side effects include hallucinations and feelings of suspicion or paranoia, Tourette’s Syndrome, and suicidal thoughts.

Children on stimulants (Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta are the best-known brands) should be watched closely and their dosages should be evaluated regularly. These medications are most effective when they are administered in the correct dosage for each individual and when they are combined with additional ADD treatments like behavioral therapy and practical and emotional support. Non-stimulant drugs, such as Strattera, can also be effective, but carry a risk of similar side effects.

In light of the risks that prescription medications carry, many parents are interested in exploring an herbal remedy for ADD. There is more than one herb that has been shown to be an effective ADD or ADHD child treatment, and there are a variety of natural remedies on the market that combine many of them. Ginko Biloba, Green Oats, Brahmi, Gotu Kola and Panax Ginseng are some of the best ingredients, and the positive effects of some of them (like Ginko) can become permanent even after discontinuing use.

While stimulant medication is often successful in treating ADD, it can sometimes cause its own set of problems. Weigh the risks and the benefits carefully, and make the decision that is right for your own child. Just as each child exhibits symptoms of ADD differently, each child will react differently to medication and treatment. Patience and thorough research should lead you to a healthy solution for your child.

By Tess Thompson |