Protecting Your Kids from Ticks
By Jamell Andrews With the warm weather and coming summer vacation, children will be spending more time outdoors. The warmer weather at this time of year also means that that tick season is in full swing. A tick bite can put your child at risk for different diseases, with Lyme disease being especially concerning. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the United States yearly.
Natural Children’s Allergy Prevention
Natural Ways to Prevent Your Child’s Allergies Part 1 of 2 Spring is upon us. Flowers — and allergies — are in full bloom. Are there natural steps that parents can take, to prevent or lessen children’s seasonal allergies? Yes, there are many.
‘Rat-Bite Fever’ from Pet Rats Can Sicken or Even Kill, Says CDC Report
As pets go, most parents would agree that rats are not among the cutest (though we know some kids might disagree). It turns out there is a good reason not to cave in and get your child a pet rat, if that’s what he or she wants. A 10-year-old boy from San Diego, CA died in 2013 after being scratched by his pet rat, highlighting the risks from handling the pet rodents, according to a report recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Teach Your Children How to Avoid Colds
Colder weather usually means an increase in the number of colds that all of us could get, including children. A lot of kids stay home from school with a cold every year, especially when the weather turns cold. Colds can be caused by hundreds of different viruses; these viruses are contracted from droplets of mucus that an infected person releases into the air when they exhale. But they can also be caused by touching items or surfaces that have been contaminated by a person with a cold, if we then touch our mouths, eyes or noses.
Is Vitamin D Important for Reducing Ear Infection Risk in Young Children?
A growing number of studies shows that vitamin D is an important tool for preventing ear infections in young children. Vitamin D, found naturally in some foods and in enriched foods, and made by the skin when exposed to sunlight, is used by our immune systems to fight disease — the vitamin D receptor (VDR) is present in many types of cells that the immune system manufactures when it’s under attack by invading microbes. Ear infections are very common among babies and younger children; because they have the potential to damage a child’s hearing when they’re untreated or when they’re recurrent, it is essential for parents and caregivers to take all steps possible to avoid them.