In Australia at least 15% of the general population suffers from hay fever, and amongst children, adolescents are the most frequent victims. Hay fever can have effects that range from mild to quite disabling and can burden a child’s daily life, particularly becoming a problem for teenagers around exam time. Cause Children who get hay [...]
Although he may appear fragile, your healthy newborn baby is actually quite robust – do not be scared to pick him up and cuddle him! Each baby is an individual, and appearances vary widely. Keep in mind that most babies come out looking a little ‘squashed’ after their struggle down the birth canal! It takes [...]
“He thinks I’m too fat. Can I ever be sexually attractive to him like this? I just don’t think I can ever keep much of this weight off.” ANSWER: The range of healthy weight seems to be much wider than once thought, and general health, not sexual attractiveness, should be the determinant of weight. One [...]
Humans have a very long intestinal tract, typical to all plant eating creatures. All meat eaters have several times shorter intestines. What does this have to do with poisoning? Quite a bit. Meat in a long intestine spends a long time, before it is excreted. Too long. Not only is it more difficult to digest [...]
Every so often, perhaps at 10 or more year intervals, the virus may undergo a major change and antibodies from previous infections or immunisation with vaccine will be totally ineffective. The virus is usually named from the year and location of the laboratory where it is first isolated. The great influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 was [...]
Pain is the usual obvious symptom. It is initially rather vague, centred around the umbilicus (navel), usually intermittent in character and associated with nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Anorexia or loss of appetite is a constant feature and characteristic of this condition. There may be either diarrhoea or constipation. If the inflammation progresses and [...]
Who, then, is most likely to be a genetic candidate for the disease? Ten to twenty years ago (perhaps longer), the implicit assumption was that endometriosis was a disease carried by and exclusive to white middle-class women who were under stress and career-oriented. No real data was collected on the incidence of the disease within [...]
The treatment of herpes is unsatisfactory. Usually it is simply a minor cosmetic disability and clears rapidly without interference. Otherwise a spirit lotion may encourage the blisters to dry, and is preferable to an ointment. An antispetic cream may reduce the possibility of secondary infection, but will not aid the virus’s normal resolution. Numerous other [...]
Despite our personal familiarity with hunger, it is an extremely complex phenomenon. It is not just an empty stomach that causes that nagging feeling. To simplify things, we need to look at a number of levels of control. The ultimate decision-maker lies in the brain. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain given the [...]
Menstruation is a normal part of a girl’s development. Some girls start having periods at the age of nine while others do not have a period until they are fourteen or older. At the time of their period some girls develop bad stomach cramps or pains. Because pain is nature’s way of telling us that [...]