As a parent, there are many things that you need to keep a tab on, to know your child’s development. Using a child growth chart is one of the essential things that parents should be referring to for this. Pediatricians and other health service providers use a child growth chart to observe a child’s growth over time. Child growth chart has been created by observing the growth of huge numbers of normal children over an extended period. The weight, height, and head circumference of a child can be compared to the expected factors and parameters of children of the same sex and age to conclude whether the child is growing normally and appropriately. Child growth charts can also be used to predict the expected adult weight and height of a child. In general, children maintain a fairly and uniform constant growth curve. When a child diverges from their previously established child growth curve, an investigation into the causal factors is often warranted. For instance, a lower rate in the growth velocity may point out the onset of a chronic illness. Child growth charts are separate and different for girls and boys, due to pubertal differences and disproportion in final adult height and weight.

Varicose veins are the veins that get enlarged, become twisted, and appear purple or red in color. The outer veins in the lower legs are usually affected by this condition; they experience the most pressure when we stand. Varicose veins occur when veins stop functioning properly. There are valves in the veins that facilitate the flow of blood back towards the heart. When these valves fail, blood flows back and gets collected in the veins. The lower legs are most affected because they are farthest from the heart, making it more difficult to pump the up the blood. Varicose veins treatment Varicose veins are mostly benign and may not even cause any physical discomfort. Some sufferers experience debilitating pain and, in severe cases, an actual swelling of the legs. Very rarely does this condition warrant a surgery. You can take the following measures for the treatment of varicose veins: Lifestyle changes Make some changes in your daily activity to prevent the occurrence of varicosities (varicose veins) and to stop the condition from getting aggravated. Do not stand or sit in one place for too long as it puts a lot of pressure on the veins. This is the main cause of varicosities.

What are fibroids? They are non-cancerous tumors found in the uterine walls resulting in a change in a size or shape of the uterus as well as many other unpleasant symptoms. However, some fibroids can be symptomless too. Whether an individual has fibroids or not, it would be great if natural ways are used to prevent these common growths in the uterus.   Controlling high blood pressure will lower down the risk of developing these fibroids. There is a strong independent association between blood pressure and risk of fibroids in menopausal women. Some risk factors for fibroids are not under our control but we can obviously try to manage them.    The most common symptoms of fibroids which a woman m a y face are   Heavy menstrual bleeding Menstrual period lasting 7 days is longer Bloating of fullness in the stomach or pelvic region Frequent urination Pelvic Pain or Pressure Difficulty in emptying your bladder Pain while having intercourse Constipation Pain in legs or Backache Reproductive issues including infertility and miscarriages   There are a lot of things we can do to balance our hormones naturally, which is also a key to natural fibroid treatment. Such as:   Avoid foods that make fibroids worse–   High-fat processed meat – This may contain non-healthy fats and chemical additives.

Preterm labor is a very serious complication in pregnancy because the labor begins prior to the 37 week’s gestation period. There are various signs of preterm labor which women usually ignore because they think that these are just temporary sensations. However, women experiencing the signs of preterm labor must visit the doctor to get themselves checked to avoid complications. It is very difficult for babies to survive who are born at just 23 weeks or less. The chances of survival increase if the baby is born at 25 weeks or above, but such babies are more susceptible to long-term difficulties. Several organ systems mature in the normal fetus between 34 and 37 weeks. So the babies born before that period have health risks. The lungs are the last organs to develop, and that is why doctors provide extra medication to women who have to face preterm delivery in order to increase the lung size of the baby and help it to survive. To the avoid premature birth of your baby, you should pay heed to the signs of preterm labor that your body repeatedly gives you. Early detection of signs can help you to avoid premature delivery and give your baby a better chance of survival.

In most cases, food is the cause and cure of several medical conditions. People argue that diabetes is hereditary but that does not mean it isn’t inevitable. With proper diet and healthy lifestyle, genetic problems can be avoided. However, once a person is diagnosed with diabetes then they have to control it with medications, home remedies, and workout. Even though diabetes has no known cure, it can be managed well. There are many diabetic meal plans one can follow to remain fit and prevent the disease from getting worse. Here are some foods that should be included in any diabetic meal plan to make it effective for the overall health of a person: Vegetables that are not starchy are good for diabetic patients as they have fewer carbohydrates per serving. So, foods like asparagus, broccoli, beetroot and other such vegetables are excellent to include in your diabetic meal plans. Vitamin D is essential for maintaining good health of the bones in one’s body. Healthy bones help people dealing with diabetes. So it is imperative to get enough sun exposure and increase the intake of dairy products. Tomatoes can be cooked or eaten raw. Either way, they prove to be great for a diabetic meal plan.

The anti-aging business is flourishing today as a multi- billion-dollar industry as people across the world takes recourse to anti-aging products and services. However, nature provides us with its own products that are a sustainable, efficient way of combating aging and staying young. Dermatologists are of the view that what we ingest is as important as the products we apply on our skin. ‘We are what we eat’ has been a philosophy for centuries and food can be an effective anti-aging tool. Here is a list of vitamins and their food sourc es which are effective for anti-aging purposes: Vitamin A This anti-aging  vitamin helps in numerous ways to reduce the effects of aging. It slows the breakdown of collagen, the main structural protein found in the skin. This aids in making the skin look young and stay elastic. One of the primary causes of age-related degeneration has been oxidation by free radicals. Vitamin A is an antioxidant which neutralizes and helps to combat the harmful effects of free radicals. It also plays an important role in overall bone health and helps to prevent osteoporosis as years pass by . It is found in good qu antities in foods like carrots, kale, sweet potatoes and mangoes.

Diabetes or increased blood sugar level is now one of the most common health problems of people living in the United States. The fast-paced lifestyle and changes in food habit of people is one of the major reasons accounting for the increased number of diabetic patients. Once diagnosed, diabetic becomes a chronic disease for the lifetime. The worst thing is that people suffering from irregular blood sugar level often have to compromise with their favorite food. Regulating diet is apparently a necessity. However, that does not mean, you will have to switch to a monotonous diet. To make a healthy and interesting diet plan for yourself, you just need to know the best as well as worst food that would get them on the diabetic food list. Good and bad protein According to the American Diabetes Association, protein is important for a diabetic patient. Yet, it should be the lean protein like turkey or fish and not something with a high concentration of fat. That means you can easily make some tasty delicacies with salmon or turkey for a couple of times in a week. Healthy protein options are available for the vegetarian people as well. You can try out different types of beans and nuts in your diet which should be on the diabetic food list.

People who have failed or damaged kidneys normally have difficulties and a rough time when it comes to eliminating waste products from their body. Carrying out the process of kidney dialysis tends to help a lot in these situations. A dialysis of the kidneys keeps your body in balance by removing the extra water and salt from building up in the body. For one to be able to keep a safe level of chemicals in the blood such as sodium and potassium, they have to go through the process of dialysis. This helps a lot in the control of a person’s high blood pressure. Dialysis replaces the general work of the kidneys. This is also known as a renal placement. There are certain things that a normal kidney can do that doesn’t work with dialysis such as the following: Secretion of certain products in the body that are important for metabolism. Production and the release of hormones into the bloodstream Production of Renin that helps to control blood pressure. A person who has a healthy kidney should be able to filter in 120 to 150 quarts of blood every day. If the kidneys are not functioning normally as they should, dialysis can be done so as to prevent toxins and other drugs from the blood from building up and becoming hazardous.

Sciatica is a medical condition in which the sciatic nerve, which originates from the lower spine and runs down to your feet, gets pinched. This causes intense pain in the lower back and in the legs. A pinched sciatic nerve may be the result of a herniated disc, a narrowing of the spinal canal, muscle spasms in the buttock, a breakdown of the disc, or an injury. Heat or ice to relieve the pain Applying an ice pack or heat pack to the legs relieves the pain to some extent, especially in the initial stages of sciatic pain treatment. The packs should be used for around 20 minutes with a two-hour interval between sessions. Take care not to apply ice directly to the skin as it may cause ice burns. Heat and ice packs may also be alternated. Pain medication Anti-inflammatories Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (or NSAIDs) are used to reduce inflammation and pain. These drugs are easily available without a prescription. Naproxen is one such drug that dulls the chemical signals in the sciatic nerve that cause inflammation. Another NSAID commonly used is Ibuprofen. It works on the same principle as that of Naproxen. It must be noted that both these medications come with side effects.

Everybody knows about this condition called gout, which is but a form of arthritis. It leads to swelling of the joints, and a pain in the swollen regions. The first swelling appears in the big toe and the pain that one experiences can be excruciating. These pain attacks keep recurring until and unless the gout is completely treated. Gout can not only affect your joints but also your tendons and muscles. Though gout afflicts both men and women, it usually occurs more in males. If you are wondering what causes this painful condition, then here is the reason. Gout strikes when too much uric acid accumulates in the bloodstream instead of being excreted. A high level of uric is not all that leads to gout. When the uric acid forms crystals in your body, you start experiencing symptoms of gout. The changes of getting gout increases when you are overweight or when you consume too much alcohol or eat food that is highly rich in purine. A proper diet is probably the best way to control and manage the symptoms of this disease. In fact, if you follow proper gout diet plans from an early stage, you may even be successful in eliminating it without the use of any medicine.

Cataract is a condition characterized by the clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. The arrangement of protein inside the lens in a precise fashion keeps it clear and allows the light to pass through it. However, in the due course of aging, the protein in the lens sometimes tends to clump together and cloud a small area of the lens. There are various types of cataracts that a patient might suffer from. It usually starts out small and has minimal effect on your vision initially like minimal blurring effect. Affected people also find the light from the sun and other sources to be too bright. Sometimes patients find the colors to be dull as compared to what they would have seen in a normal vision. If this condition is left untreated, the patient may face a risk of increased patches of these protein covered areas, further damaging the lens. If you seem to have developed a cataract, it is best to undergo a surgery at the earliest as avoiding the condition may result in losing the vision. Cataract surgery Doctors recommend a cataract surgery if your condition prevents you from doing daily chores like driving or reading comfortably.