Month: January 2016

Hidden Household Hazards

Posted on by Rossel Dacio

For most people, the major dangers they or their kids could face are outside. Unfortunately, this means that while they take extra precautions outside of the home, their attention to things at home is less than satisfactory.

This is why we sometimes say that the hazards are actually inside the house more than they are outside. This is why as parents, you must take all the necessary steps to protect your children from those things. To do this, however, you must be able to identify these hazards first. The following are some of those hidden dangers.

Cloth Hampers

Kids are always looking for ways to have some fun in the house. Their standard go-to is often building a fort. While there are many materials that they can use to build their nice little “fort”, cloth hampers tend to attract their attention.

Most parents typically do not consider these hampers as harmful. Yet, many children have been rushed to the hospital because the wires from these hampers cut them in the eye. Children who are injured by these hampers typically need surgeries, particularly when it’s in a place like their eyes.

Fridge Magnets

Yes, these things are important. But they are also incredibly risky when kids are around. Even riskier now are the small stress relieving balls which can be swallowed by children and fully capable of choking them.

Here’s why magnets are dangerous: opposite ends of magnets naturally attract regardless of wherever they are located. All they need is close proximity. So, when children ingest these magnets, they attract each other, causing incredible pain to the children.

Colorful Detergent Pods

The thing about these pods is that they are designed in attractive colors and produced to look like small sweets. And you know kids love sweets. If you leave any of these concentrated detergents lying around, your child might just think that they stumbled on a tasty treat and try to eat them.

Because these are concentrated detergents, once they bite into them and swallow, they are essentially poisoning themselves the results can be significantly uncomfortable at best or devastating at worst.

Small Wristwatch Batteries

These are also referred to as “button” batteries. This is because they are shaped like buttons. If you or a relative use wristwatches or any gadgets that use these small sized batteries, you would do well to ensure that they are either kept out of the children’s reach or ensure that they are actually intact.

These batteries are capable of choking children. And if successfully swallowed, the batteries could open while in the stomach. The fluid from inside the battery can cause significant burns to the child’s alimentary canal.

Candies and Sweets

Who doesn’t like them? We all do. However, candies are considered the number choking hazard among children. Now, we won’t say that you shouldn’t give your children candy.

Just make sure they are soft and small enough to be swallowed. You should also learn appropriate choking rescue techniques like the Heimlich as it could be helpful in providing the much-needed relief necessary for the child.

Medications 

For the fortunate among us, we only need our meds occasionally. But for those with severe medical conditions, taking the meds on a frequent basis is necessary. Whatever the case, because more adults are popping more pills than ever -whether it’s supplements or prescription drugs- children are inadvertently at risk of ingesting one of these pills.

Depending on the contents of the pills and the child’s allergies –children allergic to penicillin could go into anaphylactic shock- the resultant effects could be mild or fatal. And because you may not be around when this happens, the child could die from the poison. So, whatever you do, always make sure that medicine cabinet is secured and never leave medications around the house carelessly.

If you do happen to find your child has taken some form of medication that you did not administer, immediately call 911 or a local pediatric urgent care, like Night Lite Pediatrics, to assist you.

Oscar King is a freelance writer and family man who contributes advice and insights into the blessings and challenges of family living.

Start Your Journey to Good Health

Posted on by Rossel Dacio

Practicing healthier lifestyle sounds simple but it’s definitely not. Leading to a healthy life is not a one-step process that can be done overnight. It’s quite a long journey but achieving it though is  not impossible as long as you’ll adhere to regular physical activities, healthy eating,  good social interactions and discipline.  Here are five tips that will help you start your journey to good health.

Limit Your Carb Intake

 

Carbohydrates play important role in our body. It gives us energy and aids in muscle building. However, excessive intake of carbohydrates can cause weight gain and belly fats. Shifting to low-carb diets can reduce your appetite, make you eat less calories and shed pounds easily.

Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heat disease as well as strengthening our bones, muscles and joints. Also, regular exercise can actually make us more attractive. This comes in the form of healthier hair, smoother skin, brighter teeth, improved posture and a more confident demeanour.

Take Multivitamin Supplement

 

There are numerous misconceptions about multivitamin supplements and the benefits they offer. Of course vitamins cannot replace a good eating routine, but multivitamins such as Enervon Activ may help if you can’t follow a healthy diet that can supply your body with daily nutritional requirements. It may also help to meet your energy demands and help enhance immune function.

Meditate

Meditation has been around for thousands of years. Many people are now practicing it because of its tangible benefits. It is known to decrease high blood pressure, prevent heart attacks and strokes, boost immune function, decreases pain and inflammation and increases memory. It also help in fighting depression, giving peace of mind, increasing positive emotions and happiness.

Boost Your Social Life

Social ties can enrich your life and improve your health. Connecting with others and having good social life is more important than you thought. It prevents loneliness and depression and gives you the chance to experience the good feelings that come from being with good friends. It also gives you the opportunity to help others and offer needed companionship thus, increases your purpose and self-worth.

Mouth Guards: What Types Are Available And Why Are They Used?

Posted on by Rossel Dacio

When it comes to mouth guards, there is no way to be too safe. These protective tools are used for a variety of reasons, ranging from protection during sports to preventing tooth grinding to avoiding biting an already sore spot on the inside of your mouth.

Although mouth guards may sometimes feel bulky, uncomfortable, and awkward, they’re an important step in protecting and maintaining the health of your teeth, regardless of whether you currently wear braces or never had to get braces at all.

When you’re playing sports, especially contact sports, it’s important to wear a mouth guard to protect your teeth, lips, face, and jaw from impacts that could potentially cause a lot of damage.

Mouth guards are also useful for people who grind their teeth or have a tendency to bite the insides of their mouths. In the case of grinding your teeth, there may sometimes be a need for a splint, which is worn at all times, instead of a simple mouth guard, which is usually worn at night if it is being used to prevent grinding.

In addition to preventing the lacerations that teeth might create inside the mouth, mouth guards can also protect the inside of the mouth against the hard and sharp materials used in metal braces.

Across the board, there are three different types of mouth guards. They all have different advantages, disadvantages, and uses, and they vary in price, availability, and material used. Although dentists recommend certain types and even make their mouth guards, the most important thing is that some mouth guard is worn to protect your teeth.

Stock Mouth Guards

Stock mouth guards are typically large and bulky and are often uncomfortable in your mouth because they aren’t made to fit your mouth specifically; they’re just sold for tooth protection in general.

Stock mouth guards are typically made of rubber or polyvinyl, come formed and ready to wear, and are the least expensive type of mouth guard of all three types.

Usually, a stock mouth guard is so uncomfortable that it may cause wearers to gag and have difficulty breathing, and requires that their mouth remains closed for the guard to stay in place. For these reasons as well as the fact that they don’t have any specificity to the user’s teeth, dentists do not recommend wearing stock mouth guards.

However, because the guards are not fitted for each person, they’re easily accessible and available to purchase at most department stores and sporting good stores.

Mouth-Formed Mouth Guards

There are two types of mouth guards that fall under the category of Mouth-formed mouth guards, and they are called shell liner and boil-and-bite.

Both types of mouth-formed guards can be bought in a department store or sporting goods store, much like a stock mouth guard.

A shell liner is lined with acrylic gel or rubber. This material molds onto the teeth and then sets to keep its shape. Boil-and-bite guards are made of thermoplastic and are places in boiling water and the molded to the teeth with the use of fingers, the tongue, and biting pressure. The added advantage to boil-and-bite is that if the fit is not comfortable, the guard can be boiled and reformed again.

These mouth-formed guards are better than stock mouth guards because they are formed to fit your individual teeth, but they do not offer the same level of protection as custom-fitted mouth guards.

Custom-Fitted Mouth Guards

While these are the most expensive mouth guards across the board, they also offer the best support and comfort as well as the best protection. This is because they are created specifically for your teeth.

When you go to a reputable dentist, such as Dr. Johnson, they will make an impression of your teeth and send it off to a lab where they use the impression to create a mouth guard that is completely personalized and fits only your teeth.

Kate Stefanski, a beauty guru and freelance writer enjoys sharing articles and insight into makeup, healthy eating, and exercise. If you would like to learn more about Kate, you can check out her Google+ profile.