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…
As a step parent you not only have to adjust to your partner, but also to your partner’s children and the ex. There are sure to be problems in the beginning because children will resent the one who is trying to take the place of their natural parent. As you get to know each other,…
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…
Being a parent is no easy task. There can be no hard and fast rules which are to be followed. What your parents did may not hold good now. Mothers may find themselves using the ‘don’t’ word very often – don’t talk so loudly, don’t fight etc. However, psychologists believe that it is better to…
Tolerance is usually talked about in terms of religion and ethnicity. In a wider sense it means having respect for others who are different from you, whether it is in intellect, gender or physical abilities. Your attitude should be such that you can embrace people who are not the same as you, hold different views…
Washing hands frequently is the best way to prevent germs from entering the body of a child. Children make no distinction between clean and unclean things when they play. They play in the mud, touch animals and hold hands with a child who has a cold. Thereafter they touch their mouth, nose and eyes and…
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…
Many people feel that occupational therapy, or OT, as it is often called, is meant for adults and has no meaning for children. Once they are persuaded to let their child participate in it, they are amazed and happy to see the improvement it brings about in their lives. It not only deals with the…
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…