INFECTION AWARENESS
Like any other disease, infectious disease is easier to prevent than to cure.
What you can do to destroy microorganisms (bacteria) on surfaces:
Apply high temperature (sterilization, pasteurization);
Use antiseptics (medical alcohol, iodine, hydrogen peroxide);
Wash hands before each meal or after coming from a public place.
Ways of transmission of infections and what you can do to stop it on its way:
airborne route of transmission – use masks, ventilate rooms;
alimentary (food) pathway – wash hands and food, prevent flies from flying around the cooking area;
sex (contact) pathway – use condom;
blood transmission path – sterilize surgical instruments (watch them to be sterilized), try to avoid tattoos at questionable locations (How infection works).
Proper vaccination is a safe way to protect yourself and your children from a number of living infections!
Health screenings for children from 0 to 5.
Today there are literally screenings for everything. Every organ, every artery, every cell can be examined. The main reasons doctors fail to heal all the patients are: fatal diseases for which there is no cure, negligence of medical staff, pricey procedures that are not covered by the insurance or when there is even no medical insurance. It also applies to children.
When a baby is born, especially a first one, parents find themselves in a state of panic and are eager to run all sorts of tests just to make sure they are doing everything correctly.
However, in most cases there is no need to drag the little human to hospitals or call an ambulance every time he or she sneezes.
In a perfect world, a normal healthy child needs only several obligatory screenings that will reaffirm his/her perfect wellbeing. Here are the ones that can help determine a very large specter of diseases:
Blood tests
The cellular composition of the blood of a healthy person is fairly constant. Therefore, its various changes that occur during diseases may have an important diagnostic value. A simple, informative and often used method is a common blood test CBC. It can help to identify various inflammatory diseases, allergic conditions, disorders of blood itself. In some cases, this exam helps to determine the earliest signs of the disease. Therefore, a blood test is always carried out during preventive examinations. Repeated exams can assess the effectiveness of the treatment and the recovery tendency. Actuallt there is a number of blood tests that trach different changes in the body. Professional pediatrician should advice on the most proper one for the situation. Usually the first blood tests are performed around 3rd month of life. If the child feels well, it has to be performed at least once a year.
Stool tests
There is a number of stool tests. Some are targeted at disbacteriosis, helminths, lambliasis or hidden blood. However, the most general one is called coprogram. This study is a result of the macro and microscopic examination of stool sample that helps determine its chemical properties. This analysis helps determine most pathology of the gastrointestinal tract. Stool tests is usually advices when baby is gaining weight poorly or if there are problems with baby stool. However, during the first year of life this test may be obligatory.
Sight and hearing exams.
Examining sight and hearing helps determine whether the child is developing properly. Prophylactically, such tests should be performed once a year, starting from the very first year of life (Snow and Van Hemel).
Neurological and orthopedic exams
Seeing a neurologist and an orthopedist must be performed during the first year of life of a baby. If no further pathologies are determined then a baby must only visit a neurologist at least once a year in order to reaffirm normal progress in development and be assisted timely if needed. According to Karen Kuhlthau, PhD “Screening is a first important step in assuring that children get the mental health services that they need”( Increased, mandatory screenings).
Dental exam
Around 18-24 months parents should take their child to see a dentist. By this time, a baby should grow most of their teeth.
One must always remember that a timely checkup may help to foresee and prevent most diseases that are harder to treat at later stages.
References
“How infection works”. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine. Web.
“Increased, mandatory screenings help identify more kids with emotional/behavioral problems”.
Massachusetts General Hospital New Release. 7 March 2011. Web.
Snow, Catherine E. and Van Hemel , Susan B. Van Hemel. “Early Childhood Assessment:
Why, What, and How”. 2008. (p.61-67). Web.
