Cascia Talbert's Blog, page 65

Winning the Mental Health Battle with Genetics

by Brandpoint

(BPT) – Mental illness is relentless. Patients and their caregivers face stressful days and restless nights — filled with profound physical and emotional challenges. For Brandon B.*, a patient with bipolar disorder, life was like being on a roller coaster, rotating mercilessly out of control.

“After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in November 2017, I was in the middle of a manic cycle and barely sleeping a couple hours a night, if at all,” says Brandon. “My emotions controlled me. I was living on a roller coaster that was moving quickly from excitement to depression.”

Mental illness is pervasive too. Brandon is one of millions of Americans — over 46 million, in fact — whose lives are impacted by mental health conditions. That equals one in every five adults 18 years of age and older in the U.S. who suffers from mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Younger people are similarly affected, as nearly half of adolescents between the ages of 13-18 will experience a mental illness.

Staggering financial toll

The burden of mental illness is further ominous when viewed through the lens of its financial consequences. According to an editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry, serious mental illnesses cost patients more than $193 billion per year in lost earnings. The overall health care delivery system is impacted as well. The NIMH reports that mental health care expenditures are the third most costly medical condition, behind heart conditions and trauma, and tied with cancer. Globally, the World Health Organization projects that depression will become the largest health burden by 2030.

In spite of these dynamics, there is reason for optimism for improved treatment of mental illness and positive patient outcomes.

Breaking the cycle of failed medications

Working with his doctor and eventually finding the medication that worked best for him, Brandon was able to slowly work his way out of the depression that was crippling his life.

“Any time you are dealing with mental health, there can be trial and error in order to identify the medication that works best for you,” says Brandon. “It took me five to six months working with my doctor and trying two medications before I finally found the right one. I was lucky in a sense. For some patients it can take years before they find the medication that actually works.”

Genetic testing points the way

What helped Brandon break the churn of failed medication trials that many mental health patients experience? He found the answers he hoped for in genetic testing.

Through a simple cheek-swab genetic test from Genomind, a PA-based mental health care company, Brandon’s personal genetic markers were identified. The test, administered at his doctor’s office, analyzed Brandon’s genes from two critical standpoints: the effect a drug would have on his body; and how his body would metabolize the same drug. Ultimately, the Genomind test provided the precision information that was needed to help his doctor select an appropriate and safe drug for Brandon’s bipolar disorder.

An evolution in mental health care

The science of genetic testing is steadily influencing the paradigm in the personalized treatment of mental illness. More and more doctors view genetic testing as a valuable component in their clinical toolkit.

“Your clinical understanding of the patient can only go so far without having the genetic component,” said Dr. Violina Frenkel, clinical director at Integrative Behavioral Care in Summit, NJ. “Genetic testing narrows down the clinical picture.”

Treatment guided by genetic testing can also reduce costs to patients and insurers. One notable study showed that, on average, healthcare utilization costs decreased $1,948 per patient over a six-month period for patients who received genetic testing, compared to similar patients who did not.

At the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in San Francisco, Genomind launched its latest genetic testing solution. Genomind Professional PGx tests a panel of 24 total genes and covers 130 FDA-approved medications for multiple psychiatric conditions, making it the most comprehensive mental health-focused genetic test available. The company processes all tests at its in-house lab at 99.9% accuracy and provides free consults to discuss results.

“Working on the front lines with the clinical community in mental health, we are excited about the value our genetic testing solutions provide in helping select safe and effective treatments for patients,” says Shawn Patrick O’Brien, chief executive officer of Genomind.

*Last name withheld to protect privacy.

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The article Winning the Mental Health Battle with Genetics by Brandpoint appeared first on Healthy Moms Magazine.

6 Childhood Ear Infection Facts Parents Often Don’t Know

by Dr. Paul Smolen

Here are 6 childhood ear infection facts that parents often don’t know. How do I know that many parents don’t know these things you ask… because I’ve been practicing pediatrics for 37 years , that’s how. Let’s test your pediatric ear infection knowledge in this edition of Portable Practical Pediatrics. www.docsmo.com

 

What Causes Ear Pain? 

Have you ever wondered what is going on when your child complains of ear pain while having a cold. And how do you know if your young child, with little ability to talk or localize pain, if he or she is hurting?  It reminds me of an afternoon 30 something years ago when I was taking care of my son Ben who had a bad cold. He was two years old at the time. I couldn’t get him to play, read a book with me, or eat anything. He was just acting strange. And he cried about everything. He was old enough to be verbal but wasn’t complaining of anything, just crying, crying, crying. After a few hours of this, his genius pediatrician father, yours truly, wondered if he might have an ear infection complicating his bad cold. I pulled out my otoscope and oh yes, he had a hot one. I felt terrible that I didn’t think about this earlier in the day and he had suffered all day. So much for that medical degree and 4 years of pediatric training… I learned that day that being a parent is different.

So what was causing little Ben’s pain? Any of the structures around the ear can cause ear pain including your child’s teeth, their muscles of chewing, the joint in their jaw that moves with chewing, or their tonsils, but…when it comes to causes of ear pain, the big gorilla in the room is a middle ear infection caused by trapped infected mucous behind their ear drum.  Sure enough, Ben’s infection was the middle ear type, an extension of his cold back into his ear, and his pain was caused by a sudden outward pressure on his ear drum from the pus that developed in his middle ear. “Ow!”  You may not be aware but a child’s eardrum is as sensitive as their corneas and when it gets pushed on, its not fun!

History of Treatment of Middle Ear infections

   —  In my childhood, ear infections were treated by lancing your eardrum. My pediatrician, let’s call him Dr. X, simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a little instrument called a myringotomy knife (that means eardrum knife) and he simply cut your eardrum letting the pressure and pus out of my eardrum.  Needless to say Dr. X was not my favorite person and I learned quickly not to EVER complain of an earache.  When he was not cutting my eardrum, his nurse was always giving filling my bottom full of penicillin.  Dr. X and his nurse made quite a team.  Fortunately, medicine has moved forward from those days.  For the rest of the twentieth century, antibiotics alone became the mainstay of treatment for otitis media. More humane and very effective until the era of antibiotic resistant bacteria arrived… you know those super bugs that just laugh at our strongest medicines and refuse to die. Their existence has forced a revolution in treatment in the past decade.

Some Interesting Facts About Otitis Media

Parents need to consider otitis media when their children have a snotty nose, usually for a few days, and they start acting like they have pain-maybe by just crying a lot like Ben did, or pulling at their ears, or not sleeping, or a myriad of other more subtle signs. Most ear infections afflict preverbal children so knowing when to take them to the pediatrician can be challenging. At the beginning of my pediatric career, a full 40% of all visits to my office were related to ear infections. Not today, mainly because a vaccine that most children in the U.S. get called pneumococcal 13 and 23 vaccines.  These vaccines really reduced the number of ear infections children were getting. Today, I would estimate that ear infections are about 10% of all pediatric visits. And all those antibiotics we had in our arsenal back then to control the germs causing middle ear infections, they to a large degree, just have stopped working with ever stronger germs coming down on today’s children.

Fast Forward 40 Years

Let’s fast forward to today’s children and their ear infections. Pediatricians have an entirely different approach once they realized that about 60% of ear infections go away without treatment. Had you told me in 1982 when I started my pediatric career that 60%-85% of those hot ears I was treating would go away without treatment, I would have thought you insane but that is the reality in today’s world. In 1982, every pediatrician was worried that every ear infection in a child could become meningitis in a few hours. We saw that happen all the time. But fortunately, the vaccines that children are given today have essentially eliminated any chance that a nose and ear infection will turn into a blood stream infection or meningitis, the fear we had before the vaccine era and the reason that we can now avoid immediate treatment of children with ear infections.

Another realization that has been a game changer is the fact that antibiotics probably only shorten the length of ear pain by about 1-2 days. These two facts have led pediatricians to back off automatic treatment of ear infections with antibiotics. So now when an older than 6 month old child, without a fever, has an ear infection and doesn’t look or act really sick, pediatricians take the “Wait and See” approach.  Today’s treatment of otitis media is not lancing, not broad spectrum antibiotics, but rather pain medicine and watchful waiting.  Treatment with antibiotics only occurs if the child looks very sick, doesn’t improve in 48 hours, or gets worse before then. Yes, today’s, treatment of ear infections is all about pain management, not treatment of the actual infection. Quite a change from the past.

How Should Parents Control The Pain of Otitis Media in Their Children?

So how should parents take on the pain of an ear infection in their children? Recently, the FDA decided to require safety and efficacy data on topical ear infection medicines that had previously been grandfathered. You may have heard of these medicines that went by familiar names like Auralagan and A/B otic. The companies making them were forced to remove them from the marketplace until their safety and efficacy could be proven at the companies expense. Well, that was the end of those medicines. Parents are still left with homeopathic drops to treat their children’s ear infections but little reliable information about effectiveness and safety are available here as well. Of course, there are the grandma approved home remedies of heat/cold/garlic/onion/olive oil. Maybe they work or maybe they are just distractions, taking the child”s mind off of their pain. I’m sure I would be distracted if my mother put a cut onion on my ear. I would think she was crazy. Fortunately, most parents that I see choose acetaminophen or ibuprofen, ibuprofen being the more effective.

What Should Parents Do When Their Children Have Ear Pain from Suspected Otitis Media

What should parents do when their children have ear pain from suspected otitis media- that means a cold with a change in behavior or complaint of ear pain?  Well, here is what I would suggest:

Take them to their doctor if:

–They have fever along with their suspected ear infection.

–Take them to their doctor if they are under 2 years old since they have little language to tell you how sick they are.

–Take them to the doctor if they act sick.

–Take them in if they have a history of chronic or complicated ear infections in the past.

–Take them to the pediatrician if you suspect an ear infection but they also have associated symptoms like vomiting, redness around their eye, tenderness behind their ear, generalized rash, or anything else that seems out of the ordinary.

–Take them to the pediatrician if your child is sick in anyway and not immunized or too young to have completed their first 6 month series of shots.

–Take them to the pediatrician if your parental instinct tells you to.

When to Consider Not taking them to the pediatrician with ear pain

But assuming your child has ear pain but doesn’t fall into the just mentioned categories, why not try the wait and see approach before taking them to the pediatrician? The wait and see approach says that if the pain is one sided, in a child without other signs of serious illness, that treating pain for 48 hours with acetaminophen or ibuprofen is the ticket. If the pain persists beyond 48 hours or the child gets sicker before the 48 hours is over, take them to the pediatrician and consider treating them with antibiotics. This approach doesn’t work well for children under 2 years of age and probably is only practical for children older than two. And of course, if you have any doubt about what to do, don’t hesitate to contact your child’s pediatrician. That is what they are there for!

The 6 Kid Ear Infection Facts Parents Often Don’t Know

Your child’s eardrum is as sensitive to pain as their corneas, among the most sensitive cells in their bodies hence the high degree of pain with ear infections.
The majority of ear infections in children go away without treatment.
Antibiotics only shorten the duration of pain by a day or two compared to no treatment.
Because of vaccines, serious complications or life threatening illness from ear infections is much rarer today than just a generation ago.
The treatment of ear infections has drastically changed in the past 20 years, for most, consisting of the “Wait and See” approach previously described.
The main treatment of ear infections today, is pain medicines.

Outro

Well, that’s it for this installment of Portable Practical Pediatrics. If you think the information you get on this podcast is valuable, consider writing a review on our Facebook page or iTunes and sharing some of the episodes with friends and family. This is Doc Smo, broadcasting from studio 1E, hoping that you know what to do the next time your little squirt has an ear hurt. Until next time.

Many thanks to Drs. Monica Miller and Charlotte Rouchouze for their assistance in the writing of this pedcast.

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The article 6 Childhood Ear Infection Facts Parents Often Don’t Know by Dr. Paul Smolen appeared first on Healthy Moms Magazine.

The Little Girl Who Helped Me Confront My Fears

by L.Y. Marlow

Last year when I suddenly had to get custody of my granddaughter Promise.  Everything I knew to be true and sane and orderly in my life came to a streaking halt.

The first few days, I walked around numb and cried. It had been more than 15 years since my daughter, now thirty-four, had lived at home. I remember how free I felt when I returned from dropping my daughter off at the university after becoming a young single mother at the tender age of 17.

I loved my life! I loved my freedom. I loved being able to have a glass of wine in the middle of the day or take long walks at night.

Now, there I was boo-hooing and having an out of body experience as my menopause struggled to revive my innate maternal instincts that first night.  Promise, nearly an identical resemblance of my daughter, slept in the room across from mine.

The next few days I enrolled her into my neighborhood school, attended PTAs, rescheduled, reworked and reshuffled my life. There were days I couldn’t eat, think, breathe; and nights I’d wake up in a cold sweat thinking: WTF?

Then Fear showed up!

All glammed out. And I became angry. Not at Promise, but at my daughter for putting me in this position. Yes! I was angry at her! All the while trying desperately not to lose myself as I went through every emotion that Fear threw at me.

Anger.

Anxiety.

Annoyance.

Agony.

Aggravation.

Anguish.

 

As the days turned into weeks and weeks into months, I knew I needed to figure out a way to do me again.

Perilously, I started to integrate familiar things back into my life that kept me sane. I’d take long walks. Meditate. Listen to inspiring podcasts. And dance around my apartment with Promise.

One day, Promise and I had what we had come to refer to as a trust moment, a heart-to-heart where we confided in each other about what we are thinking, feeling, needing and not judge.

I told her that she stresses me out when she doesn’t do her best. She told me that she doesn’t do her best because when I get upset, I’m not calm.

Then Promise suggested that she write: ‘I’ll do my best’ and I write ‘I’ll be more calmer’ ten times and we give it to each other as a reminder that we were in this together.

Writing those words on a composition page was like breathing air back into my lungs. I realized Fear had not hijacked me. I’d hijacked Fear. I’d invited Fear into my life because I was too damn stuck in my own stoicness to realize that this little girl was a gift!

Fear can make us miss out on the little Promises that shows up and teaches us about how to be calm; how to not be so stuck and stoic and structured that we lose sight of all that God and the universe is here to teach us.

In fact, it is Promise’s story that inspired the national nonprofit I founded, Saving Promise, my book Don’t Look at the Monster—One Woman’s Journey to Embrace a Purposeful Life and The Monster Theory—a women empowerment brand to inspire women to confront their fears and embrace their passion, purpose and power.

 

So if you are a mom or just someone who struggles with Fear, allow me to offer you a free copy of my book: Inspiring Life-Changing Stories to Overcome Your Fears, Find Balance and Live Your Best Life.  Not only will these stories inspire you, but I also outline 13 practical tips that you can start using right now to confront your fears and find your own calm.

While each day brought a newfound sense of freedom, I now realize that Promise, the little girl who calls me Bumblebee, was not only there to shake up my stoic world but to teach me what it truly means to be fearless … and calm

Natural Remedies for “Mom Brain”

by Guest Author

Those that have transitioned to motherhood may have noticed changes in the way they think and act as compared to their behavior before they became parents. This is sometimes referred to as “mom brain.” Keep reading to find out more!

What is Mom Brain?

After childbirth, women may experience an increase of emotions, especially when considering how they interact with their child or children in general. Studies show that it goes deeper than simply a change of heart that comes after children are born. It seems that after childbirth, there is actually an increase of activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for emotional processing.

Research also shows that it is not only mothers who experience mom brain, but fathers as well. This serves as evidence that mom brain is not a direct result of changes due to pregnancy or childbirth but the actual act of caring for a child.

Mom brain can be both good and bad. On one hand, it can make us more responsive to our children’s needs. However, it can also cause us to become over-emotional at times, bringing on feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, or even anger.

Natural Support for Mom Brain

If you are experiencing a surge of emotions, there are herbal remedies that may ease the symptoms of mom brain. They include the following:

Gotu Kola: This is a medicinal herb that has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for years. Studies have shown that gotu kola may help reduce stress, anxiety, and correlated depression. It can also be effective in promoting learning and memory functions helping parents who are overwhelmed with emotions to focus and stay on track.

Lavender: Lavender is known to have calming properties that can treat chronic and acute anxiety. It can also be helpful in promoting sleep when taken before bedtime.

Turmeric: Turmeric has been known for its anti-inflammatory properties and its ability to aid digestion. Now it is also becoming recognized for its effectiveness in treating anxiety and depression. This may be due to its high content of curcumin, which has powerful anti-inflammatory effects that may be helpful in reducing anxiety.

If you are a parent, you should be able to enjoy parenthood without worrying about being overcome by stress or negative emotions. These are all great natural remedies that can help you to stay on track and make the most of family life, so you can enjoy your time with your children and with others in your life.

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6 Smart Ways to Digitally Declutter

by Brandpoint

(BPT) – This time of year, as our focus turns to spring cleaning, there’s an aspect of tidying up that most of us may be forgetting: our digital clutter. Women’s lifestyle outlet How Does She partnered with Walmart Family Mobile to share some excellent technology tidying tips (say that five times fast!). From Christmas pictures that are still taking up memory on your phone, to hundreds of old texts that are eating up your gigabytes, to needless folders that make your computer desktop messier than a 10-year-old’s room, there are plenty of things you can digitally declutter, and once you get started, you’ll be amazed at how zen you’ll feel.

1. Organize your photos: Photos are notorious for taking up a ton of space, and can add up quickly if you don’t regularly back them up. To get started, find a free cloud-based service to help organize your pictures. As you upload, make sure to select “delete after uploading” to kill two birds with one stone and save a little time. No matter the method you chose, take the time to protect your photos and get them in order. You can even go one step further and make it a monthly routine to make your storage easier to maintain!

2. Delete old texts: Text conversations can pile up fast and take up valuable storage, especially if they contain images or videos. There’s no need to keep unimportant ones around. As you go through your messages, save only the vital conversations you’d need to keep as a record or for reference, otherwise, send them to the trash! For the messages with images and videos, use the advice in the first tip to stay organized and limit storage use. Take five minutes right now (that’s all you need!) and pare down your texts.

3. Get your family on one mobile plan: With all the running around your family does, it’s hard enough to keep schedules straight, let alone keep up with different mobile plans. Make it easy on yourself by getting the whole family on the same affordable plan. Did you know Walmart Family Mobile has a multi-line family plan? You can get two Truly Unlimited lines with unlimited talk, text and high-speed data for less than $75 per month. (Video typically streams at DVD quality.) And you can add more lines to suit your family’s needs at a great bargain! Not only is this an amazing deal, but with Walmart Family Mobile you also get non-stop nationwide coverage on one of the nation’s largest, most reliable 4G LTE† networks. It’s great for busy families who are always on the go. You’ll be able to keep in touch with your kids when they have practices, extra-curricular activities, are out with friends, and more.

How it works: Switching to Walmart Family Mobile is quick and easy. With no contract and no activation fees (awesome!), you simply pick a phone (or bring your own), pick a plan, activate and go. It’s that simple. You can either head into your local Walmart store or check out MyFamilyMobile.com.

4. Tidy up your email: The depths of some email accounts can be a dark and scary place. Email is a primary means of communication in the world today and there’s nothing worse than not being able to find an important message when you need it. Tidy up your inbox by taking some time to delete all junk and trash messages, and then organize further by adding folders where you can store like-minded emails. Work emails go in one folder, PTA emails in another, and so on and so forth.

5. Delete unused apps: Apps not only take up your device’s memory, but can make for a cluttered screen too. If you find yourself consistently scrolling left and right trying to locate an app, that may be a sign that you have too many, or just need a little organization. Pare down your apps by deleting the ones that you never use. Then move the ones you use most frequently to the first screen, leaving lesser-used apps toward the back. You can also group similar apps into folders to further clear up your screen.

6. Clean up your desktop: Finally, find a quick 15 minutes to clean up your computer’s desktop. Having rogue folders labeled “miscellaneous” and random icons cluttering up your screen can make it difficult to find what you actually need at a moment’s notice. Once you sort through everything, you’ll free up space and have a great new system in place to find files with ease.

So this season, when you’re gearing up to spring clean your home, don’t forget to digitally declutter too! To find out more about Walmart Family Mobile’s unlimited plans and multi-line discounts, visit MyFamilyMobile.com or your local Walmart.

If congested, customers may notice reduced speeds vs T-Mobile customers that may be further reduced for small numbers of customers who use >40GB.

† To get 4G LTE speed, you must have a 4G LTE capable device and 4G LTE SIM. Actual availability, coverage and speed may vary. During periods of congestion, Walmart Family Mobile customers may notice reduced speeds versus carrier branded customers. LTE is a trademark of ETSI.

 

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7 Sunscreen Myths a Dermatologist Wants You to Stop Believing

by Brandpoint

(BPT) – It’s no secret that sunscreen is essential for protecting our skin from the sun’s damaging rays. Even on a cloudy day, sunscreen is important for helping to reduce early signs of skin aging and skin cancer when used along with other sun protection measures. However, not everything you hear about sun care is true: there are a number of dangerous sunscreen misconceptions out there that can lead to potential issues for the skin down the road.

To cut through the confusion and help you best protect your skin from the sun’s harmful effects, board-certified dermatologist and Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology at the New York University Langone Medical Center, Dr. Elizabeth Hale, who has partnered with Coppertone, debunks common sunscreen myths:

Myth #1: All sunscreens are created equal

Truth: To best protect your skin from both UVA and UVB rays, look for the words “broad spectrum” when choosing a sunscreen, which means the product protects from both forms of UV radiation. Opt for a product with a minimum SPF 30, which can help protect you from approximately 97 percent of the sun’s damaging rays, and look for a product that is water-resistant.

Myth #2: Individuals with darker complexions don’t need sunscreen

Truth: Having a darker complexion means more melanin is present in the skin, but this only works to diffuse UV light to a certain extent and doesn’t protect from skin cancer and sun-induced hyperpigmentation. The sun can cause damage to anyone’s skin, regardless of their complexion, which is why sunscreen is necessary for people of all skin tones and ethnicities. If the white residue left behind from sunscreen deters you from applying any, opt for Coppertone Sport Clear, a clear sunscreen with a gel-like consistency that goes on clear without leaving any white residue behind. It provides broad spectrum sun protection in SPFs 30 or 50 and is water-resistant (80 minutes).

Myth #3: Cosmetics have enough SPF to keep you protected

Truth: A new wave of makeup products containing built-in SPF are taking over the market, but just because you use these products does not mean you should skip sunscreen for the day. Foundations, powders and other beauty products generally don’t provide adequate protection, so consider them just added insurance. Moreover, since we don’t always reapply our makeup on a regular basis, your skin is vulnerable for the majority of the day. To be safe, be sure to apply actual sunscreen before or after your makeup and reapply throughout the day.

Myth #4: Sunscreen does not expire

Truth: Digging through old beach bags and car trunks for sunscreen might seem cost-efficient, but using an expired sunscreen puts your skin at risk. The active ingredients in most SPF products tend to break down after about three years, and even faster when exposed to high temperatures and direct sunlight, making the ingredients less effective in protecting you from sun damage. Not all sunscreen products come with an expiration date, so try to keep in mind when the product was purchased, store it indoors and be on the lookout for signs of deterioration, including changes in color, consistency, texture or smell. If you are not applying sunscreen regularly, which you should be, make it a point to restock your sunscreen at least at the start of each summer. 

Myth #5: A base tan will prevent sun damage

Truth: To prevent further skin damage our bodies naturally build up melanin, which is what makes us look tanner, but this natural protection is nothing compared to the defense provided by sunscreen. Any form of skin tanning is a sign of sun damage. Just because there are no visible signs of sunburn, UV radiation and unprotected sun exposure can still damage the skin, so always make sure to wear sunscreen and reapply as directed.

Myth #6: If a sunscreen says, “water resistant,” I don’t need to reapply after swimming

Truth: Some performance sunscreens will say “water resistant” on the bottle, which is great. However, even these water-resistant sunscreens need to be reapplied after 80 minutes of swimming or sweating, and immediately after towel drying. Be sure to check your product instructions and use and reapply as directed.

Myth #7: Chemicals in sunscreens should be avoided

Truth: All of the ingredients used in sunscreens have been well-studied and considered to be safe for human use. In fact, while physical sunscreen ingredients like Zinc Oxide and Titanium Oxide are excellent options, the addition of chemical ingredients can help improve the spectrum of protection and make for a better performance sunscreen option. The good news is that there are many options available, so that you can make the choice of what’s best for you.

Having a basic understanding of sun protection and knowing the truth behind common misconceptions is key in safeguarding your skin and reducing your chances of premature skin aging and skin cancer. Along with taking additional measures to protect the skin, such as wearing a protective hat or coverup and minimizing time in the sun when it’s the strongest, applying sunscreen as directed plays a vital role in keeping you and your loved ones’ skin protected and healthy.

For more information on sun protection, visit www.coppertone.com.

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How to Increase Your Breast Milk Naturally

by Guest Author

Breastfeeding is said to be the healthiest way to provide your baby with the nutrition they need. However, many women struggle to breastfeed. One common problem new mothers face is that they are unable to produce enough breast milk for their child. Fortunately, an herb known as shatavari can naturally help you increase your breast milk. Keep reading to learn more!

 What is Shatavari?

 Shatavari is a medicinal plant native to India and the Himalayas. It is often used in Ayurvedic practices for the health benefits it can provide. Its healing properties may be due to its high content of bioflavonoids, as well as zinc, calcium, and B vitamins.

 Shatavari is referred to as the “queen of herbs” due to its ability to provide phytoestrogenic properties. These properties can help increase fertility in women and can also increase breast milk production in new moms.

 It is best for women to take shatavari in later stages of pregnancy to ensure their breast milk supply is sufficient when it comes in. However, if women do not take shatavari during pregnancy and find they are not producing enough breast milk, they can also take it as a supplement while nursing to help with production.

 How Does It Work?

 It is believed that shatavari works to increase breast milk production by stimulating the release of prolactin and corticoids, which are responsible for improving both the quality and quantity of breast milk. It also may promote the secretion of steroid hormones that increase breast milk weight and ensure higher yields of breast milk.

 Shatavari is not only recommended for how it can aid in the production of breast milk, it can also boost the overall health of women that are breastfeeding. It boosts the immune system and is helpful in fighting infections. It may also provide relief from common digestive problems like diarrhea, heartburn, and inflammation, as well as may improve mood to prevent postpartum depression.

 Where to Get Shatavari

 Shatavari is available in powdered dietary supplements and capsules. It is recommended to take a 500 mg dose twice a day to aid in breast milk production. For maximum effectiveness, take it with warm milk.

Breastfeeding can be challenging for many new mothers. If you are having trouble creating enough breast milk to feed your baby, try including shatavari in your diet. Then find out how it may support a happier and healthier mother and child.

 

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Easy Ways to Improve Security in Your Neighborhood

by Cascia Talbert

We all want to keep our neighborhood as safe as possible. Fortunately, there are lots of easy ways to play your part in doing this. Here are the most important of them.

Use signage

This may surprise you but it is possible to deter thieves using a sign. Studies show that thieves are put off by beware of the dog, CCTV, and neighborhood watch signs.

They see all of these as a signal that the people in the area are alert, ready to work together and know how to deal effectively with any trouble. House breakers hate having to deal with dogs. Even small ones make a lot of noise, which attracts attention and can lead to the police being called.

Know your neighbors

Knowing your neighbors and their habits will help you to spot when something is wrong. It also makes it easier to find someone to keep an eye on your home when you are on vacation or at work. So, if there is a block party, be sure to attend.

Keep your neighborhood tidy

Vandals are far less likely to target a clean and tidy neighborhood. This has been proven time and time again by numerous studies.

If acts of vandalism should occur, get things cleaned up as quickly as possible. Provided you keep on doing that, the vandals soon get frustrated and move on.

Use anti-vandal paint

Using anti-vandal paint on walls and fences that run alongside the road is also a good idea. It also makes it far easier to clean up if you do happen to be targeted by vandals.

Improve the lighting

Making sure that the lighting on your street is in good repair is important. Thieves and vandals prefer to act unseen. So, street lighting can put them off. It is also a good idea to put up some lights in your yard. If you are worried about the cost of running them just install the type that only come on when movement is detected.

Install CCTV

CCTV puts most troublemakers off. They do not want to get caught, so will normally go elsewhere.

When deciding what type to install, check out local rules and regulations. In some places, you can only record what happens on your property. So, you may need to adjust your cameras, so they do not film the street.

Support your local neighborhood watch group

If you live in an area with an active neighborhood watch group, do your best to support them. Even if you do not have the time to go on the patrols you can still provide financial support to enable them to buy equipment like torches, panic alarms and other useful items.

Make it look like you are home

Thieves will target streets that have lots of houses that look empty. So, the more people who set up timer lights to make it look like they are at home even when they are not the better it is for everyone. You can go online to learn the right way to use lights to mimic human activity and buy smart lights that can easily be programmed or controlled remotely.

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The article Easy Ways to Improve Security in Your Neighborhood by Cascia Talbert appeared first on Healthy Moms Magazine.

Careers for Moms Looking to Help Future Generations

by Guest Author

There’s no doubt about it — being a parent is an incredibly fulfilling job. It isn’t easy, but little else provides the same sense of satisfaction as teaching your children about the wide world around them and guiding their decisions as they move through that world.

As your children become more independent and rely on you for practical matter less and less often, you may find that your days seem a little empty. Plenty of moms decide to go back to school and pursue their own degree, once their children are in junior high or high school.

Are you in the same position? Are you itching to challenge your brain and put your talents to work to help your children’s generation, and those to follow? If so, take a look at this list we’ve compiled, of the best ways to help future generations while embarking on a rewarding career.

Teaching

Perhaps the first career that you think of, when considering ways to “pay it forward,” is teaching. After all, you’ve got plenty of experience as a teacher, even if you haven’t ever done it for pay. All parents are teachers, and the skills you have developed while raising your own children will be put to good use if you decide to pursue this professional path.

And don’t forget that there are many ways to teach. You can get a Bachelor’s degree in education and teach public school or private school. It’s not always necessary to be certified to teach, either. Teachers need aides and paraprofessionals. Or you can lecture at the college or university level once you’ve reached a particular juncture in your own career.

There are plenty of positions that require teaching skills, but that do not follow a traditional teaching career path. You can be a private tutor or work with adult students, teaching English as a second language to immigrants. You can teach piano or guitar out of your home, or you can give cooking classes at a local continuing education facility or maker space.

A Career in Public Health

Public health is another field that offers a wide variety of occupations. One thing they all have in common is that they are concerned with preventing disease, promoting human health and well-being, and prolonging human life.

While doctors, nurses, physicians’ assistants, paramedics, and other medical personnel have a hands-on role in helping people become and stay healthy, public health jobs are usually behind the scenes.

Many of these positions involve a component of education; others center on research, communications, public policy, project management, statistics, and administration. After earning an online public health degree, you could go on to work in such capacities as:

A healthcare administrator
An epidemiologist
A public health analyst
A scientific researcher
A social or human service worker
A community health educator

Depending on the path you choose, you could work directly with members of the public, in an advisory or administrative capacity, or in a research position that has little to no contact with the public.

Nutrition

If you have children, you probably go to great lengths to make sure that the foods they eat are not only appetizing, but also wholesome and nutritious. And if you enjoy that challenge, perhaps you would make a good dietician or nutritionist.

What we eat and drink has a direct impact on us — not just on our bodies and physical health, but also on our emotions, our cognitive abilities, and our overall well-being. Helping others learn how to eat well, often on a budget or with dietary challenges, is therefore a career that is very forward thinking.

As with the other career paths we’ve discussed in this article, becoming a dietician can lead to a number of rewarding positions. You could help design the menus for public institutions, teach classes in basic nutrition, teach children how to love healthy food, mentor individuals, create educational materials or public information campaigns, or even work with a sports team to maximize the athletes’ food intake.

Final Thoughts

Naturally, these careers are just a few out of the many ways there are to impact future generations. One good piece of advice for a mom looking to get an education and re-enter the workforce is to find something you really enjoy and are passionate about, and then seek out opportunity to turn that passion into a career.

Are you considering going back to school when your children are older? What career would you choose, if you could do anything at all? Leave a comment below and start a conversation!

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The article Careers for Moms Looking to Help Future Generations by Guest Author appeared first on Healthy Moms Magazine.

How to Combine Learning and Fun

by Family Features

5 tips to keep kids’ brains active and avoid the summer slide

(Family Features) Summer break provides a chance for kids to cut loose and enjoy the freedom of a less structured schedule. However, as parents and teachers know well, months away from academic pursuits can make for a rocky start to a new school year come fall.

During the time when students lose some of the achievement gains they made during the school year, known as the “summer slide,” parents can help kids avoid this learning recession and stay engaged with these tips and ideas from the experts at KinderCare.

Read and learn as a family. Research from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education shows that spending time reading and writing as a family and encouraging kids to read on their own has a bigger impact on preventing summer slide than any other activity. Find books, poems or even museum display cards that correlate to places you see or visit during the summer. Take turns reading a chapter book with an older child or start a new series to read together.

Don’t forget math. Over the summer, math skills often fall by the wayside, according to Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Experts recommend getting creative to prevent math learning loss. For instance, ask children to help add prices in the grocery store or assist in measuring and counting while cooking together in the kitchen. Math can also be part of outdoor play. Children of all ages can count objects they find outside, like the number of trees in the neighborhood or the number of rocks collected on a nature walk. If it’s too hot to go outside, count and sort items like blocks or toys by shape, size and color indoors.

Get up, get out and get moving. One of the healthiest uses of summer time is free and available to all: nature. According to research by North Carolina State University’s Natural Learning Initiative, kids who spend more time playing outside are better creative problem solvers and have improved focus and cognitive skills. Outdoor play can be adventurous, like hiking, or it can be simple, like a backyard scavenger hunt for certain leaves, flowers or bugs.

Resist the urge to let screens do the work. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents balance the need for media literacy with reasonable limits on screen time. For children over the age of 2, one hour of screen time is enough. For children under 18 months, screen time should be discouraged. Between 18-24 months, high-quality educational media is appropriate when supervised by parents.

Encourage social and emotional development. Researchers from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University have found that students lose around 7% of their progress in social interpersonal skills for each month they are out of school, likely caused by children spending less time around their peers. Scheduling play dates or enrolling children in summer programs can help offset the backslide by helping children build friendships, increase self-confidence and model independence.

Learn more about how you can prevent summer slide through fun, educational summer activities and programs in your area at KinderCare.com.

SOURCE:
KinderCare

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The article How to Combine Learning and Fun by Family Features appeared first on Healthy Moms Magazine.