Rotavirus infection is a very common infection in children and is a cause of severe diarrhea. Throughout the world, about 6, 00,000 children die each year due to this infection. The name is derived from the appearance of the virus when examined under a microscope. This virus has a wheel like appearance and as such…
Positional plagiocephaly means or describes a flattened or misshaped head. This may be caused due to crowding in the womb if the foetus does not get sufficient space to position itself. This may also be caused by making the child lie in one position for long hours. Some mothers make the child lie straight for…
Irritable bowel syndrome or IBS does not indicate a serious health problem but it does cause discomfort and embarrassment. In consultation with doctors IBS can be managed by making changes in diet and life style, and some symptomatic medication. Symptoms of IBS IBS is an intestinal disorder and the symptoms are diarrhoea or constipation, gas…
Swimmer’s ear is also known as Otitis externa. It is not a contagious disease. A tube like opening carries sound from the outside to the ear drum. When children spend a lot of time in the water, it enters the ear. This moisture can irritate or break the skin in the tube which is the…
Smallpox is an infection caused by the variola virus. For a long, long time smallpox was a dreaded infectious disease which affected people all over the world. In 1796 a British doctor, Edward Jenner, developed the first vaccine. Although people were not too willing to be vaccinated in the beginning, it worked so well that…
Mumps is a contagious disease which usually affects the salivary glands called parotids. There are three pairs of salivary, one on each side. Sometimes the other salivary glands, testicles (in case of boys) and ovaries (in the case of girls) or the brain may be involved. The incubation period for mumps is generally two to…
Small fleshy growths that many of us have had on some parts of the body are called warts. Usually they are no cause for concern and even may disappear on their own. However, if they are on the face or other exposed parts of the body you may want to get them removed. They are…
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a highly contagious disease. It was a most dreaded disease in the 19th century, causing a lot of deaths of children aged 1 to 4 years. It has been eradicated now to a large extent but is still prevalent in pockets where there is poverty, poor hygiene, poor nutrition and those…
TMJ refers to the Temporomandibular Joint. It indicates the temple area and the mandible or lower jaw. TMJ is the medical condition which affects the joint that connects the lower jaw to the skull. If you place your fingers lightly in front of your ear and open your mouth, you can feel the ends of…
Polio virus is the cause of polio a highly contagious disease. The virus directly attacks the nerve cells in the brain and in the spinal cord. The nerve cells which are affected the most by this virus are those which control the muscles involved in movement and walking. If these neurons are destroyed, they lead…