Birth Defects and Medical Advancements

Archive for September, 2010

It is indeed surprising that people do not anticipate the negative impact of smoking, alcohol, narcotics and drugs on the reproductive system. The reproductive system is a part of our body and is affected by all other things that negatively affect our health.

In fact, the reproductive organs are more sensitive as compared to other organs. Hence, obesity, unhealthy lifestyle, excess of stress and consumption of narcotics and other substances will have a direct impact on the same.

What makes matters further complicated is that the damage done to the reproductive system cannot be undone very quickly. The condition of your lungs may start improving the moment you kick your smoking habit. However, the impact of smoking on your fertility is not going to go away very quickly.

The body will have to be cleansed and the toxins will have to be removed. Consuming detoxifying agents that contain lots of chemicals may actually make things worse. The reproductive system works on the basis of very delicate hormonal balance. There is close interaction of the brain with the blood, the hormones and all other organs for fertility and proper functioning of the reproductive organs.

In such a scenario, to treat it like a machine that can be tinkered with and repaired without any difficulty does not make sense. All this combined with the fact that the society attaches a lot of importance to this aspect and that marriage, for all practical purposes, is considered a precursor for reproduction and this makes things worse.

If you want to enjoy a stress free life and if you don’t want to face complications in this regard, it is best to kick your bad habits and start leading a healthy lifestyle. You owe this to yourself, your partner and your children. Otherwise, matters may become complicated and the stress may prevent you from enjoying your life to the fullest.

What precautions should one take to maintain good health as one grows older? Our body is similar to a group of machines working together towards a single goal. All the machines are interconnected and interlinked. It is a highly complex mechanism. To expect a group of machines to work together in perfect synchronization for many decades at a stretch without any rest or break is asking for a lot.

All this combined with the fact that we place a lot of a stress and load on the machines by our unhealthy lifestyle and dietary habits further complicate matters. In such a scenario, it is obvious that certain parts of the machine will start breaking down and certain parts will require extra maintenance as one grows old.

The joints shall require special attention because these parts are always in use whenever our body is moving. Whenever you lift your arm or take a step, your elbow, arm and knee joints are in operation. If you are overweight, it is obvious that your joints will have to take extra load.

In such a scenario, problems like arthritis and similar issues become very common. Prevention is the best way of tackling these problems. However, if you are unable to do so, you should reduce your weight and reduce the load on the joints after the problem arises.

Secondly, keep in mind that medications and drugs can only help you to a certain extent. Injecting pain killers into the joints may help you walk properly but it is going to accelerate the damage. Since pain is an indication that the part is not working properly, suppression of pain may result in muscle damage and permanent wear and tear.

Use of pain killers to reduce the pain and simultaneous solutions that help you overcome the problem permanently is a smart move. On the other hand, focusing on reduction of pain without tackling the root cause of the problem does not make sense.

There is nothing a parent hopes for more with a newborn baby than for that baby to come out healthy and happy. Every parent counts the fingers and the toes when the baby comes out and waits for the doctor to say that everything looks great. Most parents are lucky but there are some who are not as fortunate. The sad fact is that not every baby is born healthy. Many are born with some sort of birth defect, whether it be mental or physical. There is no way to ensure that your baby will come out healthy but there are ways that you can help ensure that you did everything you could.

No Smoking – This seems so obvious but there are more than enough studies and reports that would indicate that many expecting mothers have a hard time putting the lighter down when the doctor gives the good news. There is not much that is more harmful to a baby than exposure to nicotine and smoke at a compromised age. Fathers should keep in mind too that second hand smoke can be harmful.

No Drugs – This is as obvious as the smoking but even alcohol counts. Stay away from anything illegal and anything you need an ID to obtain.

Be Careful About Prescription Drugs – Prescription drug side effects can compromise your baby’s safety. Don’t be part of the problem. Let the doctor know every drug you are taking and let the pharmacy know that you are pregnant. This will allow them to both look out for the best interest of you and the baby.

Make All Appointments – Your doctor knows what’s best better than you do so make sure you are working with your doctor to do what is best for you and your baby.

Most persons treat their health in the same way they treat a big project at work. They relax and do not bother about the deadline until it is right on top of their heads. Then they proceed to burn the midnight oil hoping that the project is completed on time. However, the biggest problem is that your health does not permit these kinds of frantic and short term activities.

If you hit the gym for seven days in a week and if you try to reduce your weight to normal levels before letting go and becoming indiscipline all over again, your health is only going to suffer. Rather, your health requires a consistent and disciplined approach. If you hit the gym and exercise regularly for 25 days in a month, you can easily take five days off. However, if you go to the gym for seven days and then proceed to take a holiday for the next 10 days, your health is only going to suffer.

The muscles may improve and you may have higher energy levels but the benefits shall not last for a very long time. Always remember that health will improve only when you add a little to your good living activities on a regular basis. What will happen if you avoid sugar for half a month and if you stuff yourself with high sugar foods for the remaining half? Well, do not expect to end up normal at the end of the month.

Your body will react violently whenever it is taken off sugar after consumption of lot of sugar in the past. On the other hand, if you have a snack once in a day and if you avoid sugar for the rest of the day, you will find that your body reacts in a controlled manner and you enjoy the benefits a lot more.

If you find that your child is constantly facing the problem of bad health, then perhaps you should take a look at his or her diet. Many parents love to presume that their child is very delicate and requires a lot of extra care. However, the real problem is probably related to the fact that the child consumes nothing other than high sugar and high carbohydrates diet.

It is important for the child to get its daily quota of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Again, trying to stuff your child with numerous pills and tablets that contain these vitamins does not make sense. These chemicals are only going to place a strain on the digestive system of the child. Rather, it is advisable to encourage the child to consume fresh vegetables and fruits.

Children hate consuming veggies not because they are not very tasty but because it is not presented properly. On the other hand, if you take an extra effort to sell the idea of consumption of fruits and vegetables to your child, you will probably keep them healthy without any difficulty. Rather than expecting them to gobble down fruits because it is good for them, you should try adding some ice cream to it to convert it into a fruit salad.

A lot depends on the preferences and tastes of the child. This is something that only a parent can know. Smart understanding of child psychology and utilization of these techniques to feed vegetables and fruits to your child is only going to lead to benefits.

The biggest advantage of such an approach is that your child would not be a fussy eater and would be healthy without any difficulty. The money that you save on frequent visits to the doctor can be used to buy a treat for your child on a regular basis. This is only going to reinforce the fact that doing what is smart and sensible will also lead to enjoyment and benefits.

There are many reasons behind infertility in an individual. It may range from genetic factors to illnesses that the individual suffered when he or she was young. Stress is also a factor. Excessive stress and tension at work can automatically affect your fertility and reduce your chances of conceiving a child.

If you can pinpoint the source of stress or tension and if you can remove the same, you would be doing a great favor to your chances of conceive a child. However, if you make the mistake of taking stress over your infertility, you will only end up in a vicious cycle that has no end.

On one hand, you would continue to take stress until your spouse becomes pregnant. On the other hand, pregnancy is not possible unless both the partners are relaxed and calm about the entire matter.

To wait for results before relaxing is not going to work. Obviously, you will have to use alternate options to break the vicious cycle so that you enjoy higher chances. Remember, stress is not something that will leave without causing permanent damage. As time goes on and as you continue to remain stressed, you may end up suffering permanent damage.

Your health may suffer and you may find it difficult to maintain your daily life style. With self esteem issues, confidence problems, job trouble and overall stress, chances of conceiving a child will be very remote indeed.

Do not make the mistake of treating this as a separate task or chore. Rather, treat it as a part of your life that will have to be handled in a mature manner. Most persons spend too much time trying to create the perfect scenario and end up making a mess. Rather, just understand that conditions may not change and you may still have to proceed under these circumstances only.

This realization and mature handling of the task may help you conceive. Once you are reassured that infertility is not a problem, your stress will automatically come down.

It is a common misconception that birth deformities occur during or before the birth of the child. In fact, there are many complications that may be present at the time of the birth but manifest themselves only after their child reaches a certain age. Dyslexia is one birth deformity that is discovered only when the child starts going to school.

When the child is not in a position to match the performance of its pears and when its ability to read and write is unnaturally impaired despite its intelligence and imagination, parents discover that their child may be suffering from dyslexia. Try to keep an eye on the performance of the child and try to look for warning signs for the first 10 years of the child.

By this time, most birth deformities, including degenerative diseases, manifest themselves. If you discover that your child frequently forgets what it has been taught and what it learnt successful in the past, it may be an indication of something wrong with the mental processes of the child.

However, do not make the mistake of confessing your fears to the child. Nothing can be more damaging to the self esteem of the child than knowledge that perhaps it is not normal. Rather, try to get the test done in such a manner that the child has absolutely no idea of what is going on.

In this way, if something is wrong, you would be prepared to explain the same to your child. On the other hand, if nothing is wrong, you could completely hide the fact and make sure that your child never gets the feeling that it is not normal or is less gifted than its pears.

If possible, you could try and convey your fears to the child’s teachers so that the child’s performance in school can be noted and its abilities and efficiency can be analyzed.

Before we delve deep into an analysis of what health and medicine hold in store for us we have to understand the meaning of health. Does health denote a state of disease free life? Does it mean an active life led by an agile human being? Does health mean a state of living afforded by strong persons gifted with total immunity against all diseases?

The truth is that health denotes a strong body and a strong mind that is immune to illness. To this, you must add psychological compatibility to numerous activities. One can be healthy without being rich, scholarly or pampered by scores of servants. In fact healthy state of a person is inversely proportional to all the riches, facilities and comforts that life offers.

You are born with it and it is a blessing from the parents. Meticulous upbringing further reinforces good health. To be healthy, one need not be a recluse who is protected by doses of medicine. He or she can be exposed to the whims of nature and yet remain robust. Health is not synonymous with affluence or aristocracy nor is it the exclusive domain of the privileged few.

All of us are born with it and it is up to us to nurture it, sustain it and carry it along with us till the end. The longer we live healthily, greater are our chances of achievements. Health releases you from stress and tension. It enables your mind to concentrate and focus for long periods without disruption. It enables us to toil for long hours. A well earned rest keeps you fit for yet another day’s ordeal.

All achievers have been healthy persons with resilience. It is because of good healthy have they performed against all odds on physical, mental, or spiritual plane. Respect health as an everlasting fixed deposit and it will reciprocate your compliment and help you lead a good life. .

Is it essential to be disciplined and dedicated to be healthy? Just look at that part of your life where you enjoyed good health. If you look back, you will realize that this period coincides with that period where you visited the gym on a regular basis or performed aerobics on a daily basis.

Good health is inevitable when you enjoy regular physical activity. You will realize that you slept early, slept well, felt fresh despite waking up early and had huge energy levels. You probably achieved twice of what you thought you could possibly achieve in a single day.

We all love being in good health but never understand how tough it is to stick to good health. Our body and mind will con us into believe that we have reached the summit of good health and that we can afford to relax.

The truth is that the mountain called good health has no summit. It is a constant process. You can stay healthy for 80 years and still end up fat, lethargic and unhealthy in just ten months. You just have lose your discipline and you will automatically get bad habits. You will start staying up late, have junk food and eat at irregular intervals.

The end result will be that good living for the past 8 decades will go waste just due to your mistakes committed over a period of 8 months.

Choose any way you want when trying to achieve good health. However, do not make the mistake of letting go once you meet your goals. It is an age old adage as far as health is concerned. Becoming healthy is easy but staying healthy is very difficult.

If you do not want your life to have a zig zag pattern and if you want to be productive for a very long time, you have no choice but to become disciplined and committed to your goal of good health.

In some parts of the world, areas where wars seem to be thousands of miles away, the greatest challenge of the day may be finding school clothes on sale or purchasing the right kind of pet insurance. However, in the war-torn country of Iraq, there’s a different challenge.

Years of war, dating back to the 1990’s, has left portions of the atmosphere toxic and unsafe for both soldiers and civilians. After a period of combat, a time when one or both sides fire armor-piercing munitions, a toxin referred to as Aerosol DU (Depleted Uranium) can remain in the atmosphere. Those most at risk of negative effects to the exposure are anyone who re-enters a battlefield after combat ensues, especially if there is still dust and smoke in the air.

Some studies report that exposure to Aerosol DU is linked to kidney failure, lung cancer and death. However, another effect is an increasing number of birth effects, both to Iraqis and to U.S. veterans in the region at the time of combat. Lack of prenatal care in many regions of Iraq mean that there’s no warning for families. In many cases, the birth defects are extreme and the child is unable to survive. Common birth deformities seen in Iraq include multiple fingers, unilateral lips, unusually large heads or no arms or legs. Babies born with these types of defects typically survive less than one week.

Iraqi physicians estimate that, since the first Gulf War, birth defects are up at least 20%. That number doesn’t include statistics by private hospitals, so there’s a great likelihood that number is much higher. Babies born to mothers who live in the Southern region of Iraq, mainly Basra and Najaf, are most at risk.

A 2005 study conducted on the effects of Aerosol DU found that the substance doesn’t cause cancer or birth defects.