Family Tips

There are several categories which should not get a flu shot: people who are severely allergic to eggs and subproducts, kids under 6 months, anyone who has ever had reaction to a flu vaccination, ill people with a fever
For your information: the vaccine contains killed flu viruses that will not cause the desease, but will prepare the body to keep off infection.
Even if you, your child or anyone from your family have gotten the vaccine last year, it won’t protect you from getting the flu this year because the protection can not last for such a long time and viruses constantly change. That’s why the vaccine is changed (updated) each year to include the current strains of the virus.
Vaccine prevents infection with only a few of the viruses that can cause similar symptoms, so it doesn’t guarantee against getting sick. Everyone can get flu, but if you are vaccinated, symptoms usually are fewer and milder.
Most people do not experience any side effects from the vaccine and it causes serious harm seldom. Possible side effects include soreness or swelling at the site of the injection or such side effects as headache or low fever.
If your kid does have some symptoms after getting the flu vaccine, put a warm compress on the injection area to ease soreness or swelling, and give ibuprofen for headache or fever. But do not give your child aspirin unless your doctor instructs you to do so.

There are some groups which are usually included in so called high-risk groups and who should get the flu vaccine (among the children):
1) are between 6–59 months of age
2) were born prematurely and are at increased risk of lung problems in case of getting influenza
3) have serious heart or lung disorders, asthma as well
4) have such diseases as diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, severe anemia, or immune deficiency (including HIV/AIDS and immunosuppression caused by drugs)
5) undergo long-term aspirin therapy and are at risk for Reye syndrome if they catch the flu
6) live with someone in any of the high-risk groups from above mentioned
Some adults should also get the flu vaccine, if they:
1) have chronic lung or heart disorders
2) have chronic illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, severe anemia, or immune deficiency (including HIV/AIDS and immunosuppression caused by drugs)
3) are residents of nursing homes and other establishments which care for people with chronic medical diseases
4) are health care employees and other workers of hospitals, nursing homes, etc
5) work in police, firefighters, and other public workers
6) are planning to travel to the tropics at any time or to the Southern Hemisphere from April till September and were not vaccinated against flu the previous year
7) are 50 years of age or even older

Flu season begins in November and lasts through April, most cases occurs between end of December and beginning of March. Vaccine is usually offered in September till mid-November, but may also be given at any other time of the year.
Vaccination before the flu season gives an organism the chance to build up immunity, or protection from, the virus. The earlier you will done, the better. However, some doctors recommend to get protection even when there are only 2 or 3 months left in the flu season.
In the USA exists the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which often recommends that certain high-risk groups would be given priority when supplies of the flu vaccine are limited.
Another option is the nasal mist vaccine, which came on the market in 2003 and is now approved for use from 5 to 49 years. But this option is not good for everyone and can’t be used among the kids and adults from high-risk groups.

If night adventures are not very regular or your child isn’t constantly engaged in dangerous sleepwalking behaviors, there’s no reason to do something about sleepwalking. But if it is frequent or your child hasn’t outgrown it by the early teen years, it would be better to consult the specialist.
For children who often sleepwalk, doctors may recommend so called scheduled awakening. This disrupts the sleep cycle to help stop sleepwalking. In some more rare cases, a doctor may prescribe medication to help a child to sleep.
You can also help your child. Let him or her relax at bedtime by listening to soft music or relaxation records. Try to set a regular sleep and nap schedule and stick to it.
Don’t let your child drink a lot in the evening and make sure that your child goes to the bathroom before going to bed. Do not give the child caffeine near bedtime.
Make your kid’s bedroom quiet and cozy and keep noise to a minimum while your child is sleeping.
And if your child again will be wandering about in the middle of the night, don’t be scare. Simply guide your child back to the safety and comfort bed. And it is better not to remind about it in the morning.

The question about sleepwalking symptoms may seem nonsensical at first sight, as getting out of bed and walking around while sleeping is the most obvious sign. But young sleepwalkers may also do the fallowing: talk during the sleep, be hard to wake up, seem torpid and be clumsy, do not respond when spoken to, sit up in bed and go through repeated motions. Also, sleepwalkers’ eyes are open, but they don’t see the same way they do when they’re awake and they often think they’re in a different place or room.
Sleepwalking may also be accompanied with brief pauses in breathing and nightmares.
Usually sleepwalking is not a serious problem, while it occurs seldom. But it can be dangerous if  they’re frequent with some actions. Sleepwalking kid sleep in fact and may not realize what he or she is doing, for example, walking down stairs or opening doors and windows.
This phenomenon is not usually a sign that something is emotionally or psychologically wrong with a kid. It also doesn’t cause any emotional problems. These kids usually go back to bed on their own and do not even remember the nighttime incident.
Although sleepwalking isn’t dangerous by itself, parents should take some steps to insure child’s safety, so that the child is less likely to fall down, run into something, walk out the front door, or drive, in the case with a teen.
Parents shouldn’t awaken the sleepwalker because this might scare the kid. Instead, it would be better to gently guide him or her back to bed.
Lock the windows and doors. You may install even additional locks or child safety locks on doors.
To prevent falls, don’t let your sleepwalker sleep in a bunk bed.
Parents should remove sharp or breakable things near the child’s bed and keep dangerous things out of reach.

If your child is sleepwalking, you’re not alone. It can discourage, but sleepwalking is very common for children and most of them do so from time to time and outgrow it by the teen years. However, you should know some simple tips which can keep your child safe while tramping about.
Sleepwalking, which is also called somnambulism, in fact is not just walking. Behavior of a child can be harmless, such as sitting up, or potentially dangerous, like going outside. No matter what the child do, as it is unlikely that he or she will remember it.
When people sleep, their brains pass through five stages of sleep and all together these stages make up a sleep cycle. One complete sleep cycle lasts for about 90 to 100 minutes. Sleepwalking usually occurs during the deeper sleep of stages 3 and 4. It is very difficult to wake someone up during these stages, and when awakened, a person often looks disoriented for a few moments.
Children may walk around for 5 to 20 minutes.
This phenomenon is more common in kids than in adults. It may be hereditary, so if you or your someone from your baby’s relatives were sleepwalkers, your child may be too. There are also some other factors: lack of sleep or exhaustion, interrupted sleep, illness or fever, some certain medications and stress.

The most direct danger involved with multiple births is premature birth. The common, one-baby pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks, but a twin pregnancy often lasts shorter: between 35 to 37 weeks. Nearly half of such babies are born before 37 weeks, and the danger of having a premature delivery increases with higher-order multiples.
Premature babies can have many health problems. These can include jaundice, apnea, anemia, serious infections, respiratory distress because of underdeveloped lungs, and gastrointestinal, visual, and neurological problems just because of premature birth. These babies are usually placed in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after delivery. The risk of developing health problems increases with the degree of prematurity — babies born closer to their due time have a lower risk.
Besides problems connected with premature births, there is a number of other medical conditions that are more likely to occur: preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, placental problems, and fetal growth problems.
Because of these possible problems and concerns, many doctors specializing in fertility treatments require that future parents undergo intensive counseling on the possibilities and risks.

With the appearance of a baby, it can seem as if the laundry doubles! Many parents at once buy baby detergent to clean their baby’s clothes. It may be useful to know that this isn’t necessary for most babies.
If baby detergent can’t help you to get rid of stains and odors on your baby’s clothing, it may be time to change it for a regular liquid detergent. Unless your baby has allergies, eczema, atopic dermatitis or other conditions causing sensitive skin, washing your kid’s clothes with the rest of the family’s clothes is unlikely to irritate your kid’s skin. Liquid detergents are the best choice as they work for all types of clothes. You may even try to use stain-removing detergents for tough stains.
Before changing be sure to test one article of clothing first. If you notice any signs of irritation, try using a detergent that doesn’t contain colors or fragrances. If you still notice a skin reaction, use baby soap for a little while longer.
Swaddling clothes are the only items that need to be separated from your family laundry because harsh detergents can cause nappy rash. If you use swaddling clothes, wash them with mild baby detergent or baby soap, and avoid antistatic products or fabric softeners. Remember to use hot water and be sure to double rinse each load.

Mass media put great deal of information about medicine abuse, but recent coverage of the dangerous, potentially deadly practice of intentionally overdosing on cough and cold drugs has force parents and educators to worry over and over again.
Medicines containing dextromethorphan are easy to find, available for teens to buy, and perfectly legal. Getting access to the dangerous drug is now as easy as walking into the local drugstore with a few dollars. And because it’s found in over-the-counter medicines and is available for everyone, many teens are naively believing that it be very dangerous.
For the past years teens not only got easy access to it through the Internet, but also learnt on that very Internet how to abuse it. Because drinking large amounts of cough syrup causes retching, the drug is being extracted from cough syrups and sold on the Internet in a tablet that can be swallowed or a powder that can be snorted.

As any other medicine, dextromethorphan can be safely taken in 15- to 30-milligram doses, which are sufficient to suppress a cough; sometimes teens tend to consume as much as 360 milligrams or more. Taking huge quantities of products containing DXM can cause hallucinations, loss of motor control, and disassociative sensations.
Users may also experience other possible side effects: confusion, impaired judgment, blurred vision, dizziness, paranoia, excessive sweating, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, headache, lethargy, numbness of fingers and toes, redness of face, dry and itchy skin, loss of consciousness, seizures, brain damage, and even death.
When taken in large quantities, dextromethorphan can also cause hyperthermia, or high fever. This is a real problem for teens who take this drug being in a hot environment of a party or in a dance club, where it can be sold and passed off as similar-looking drugs like ‘angel dust’.