Getting to her fifth ear infection just wasn’t fun for her or a great way to spend time taking her to the doctor for a little lady, so basically we had 1 option left which was taking her to a specialist. We took her to a specialist a few weeks ago and the doctor was nice enough but really within 5-10 minutes and $200 later (I’m in the wrong business) it was decided that within the space of 5 months she has had 5 ear infections so with my mathematical ability – that is well lots really! The prognosis was either have grommets inserted or she could go on for another year and a half having ear infections. Hmm I’m sure that is beneficial for her, so we threw caution into the wind and decided on the lesser of two evils – grommets.

“What are grommets” I hear you say! Well think of a very small tube that gets inserted in to the middle ear, and is generally used when children have ear infections and therefore cant drain away excess fluid! ... read more >>

For all the adolescents who are overweight and really want to do something about it, the first suggestion is: try cutting out one calorie-full but nutrition-poor food that you're crazy about. If you can't stop eating chocolate candy bars or big dishes of ice cream or those wonderful cookies—or whatever is your favorite bad-habit dish, you're probably not ready to do very much about your weight.

Another help in the direction of self-education is keeping a diet diary. Doing this in any notebook or scratch-pad for a period of at least two weeks will give you more of an idea of what you really eat than just memory will ever do. To be of the most help, such a diary should be kept closely, itemizing what was eaten at each meal and for each snack. Addition of those items not put down during the day can be done at night. Then, when the study of your eating habits for that length of time is completed, each item can be checked for nutritional value and calorie count by using any of a number of nutrition or cook books. Of even more value would be the discussion of such a diary with a nutritionist or physician. ... read more >>

This month is Blue September. New Zealand is turning blue to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

DIYFather is a site for father's and we view men's health awareness as important.

Every year about 600 men in New Zealand die of Prostate Cancer. Fathers, sons, brothers, grandfathers. Gone! This happens because men don’t know how dangerous the disease is, they don’t talk to their doctor about it, they simply don’t do anything about it. This has to stop. Read more...

- Eric

A new study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse says the key to keeping your kids off of drugs is to be a “hand-on” parent. What does that mean?

Well, these parents monitor their kids’ TV-watching and Internet use, they put restrictions on what music their kids buy, they know where their kids are after school and on weekends, and they give regular chores to their children.

How about you?

Warmly,

Mark Brandenburg

Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC
mark@eqnow.org
www.markbrandenburg.com
www.eqnow.org
Phone (+1) 651-766-9976
"Helping Men Succeed" ... read more >>

Acne is one of the most common problems in adolescent teens affecting nearly seventeen million people in the United States. Acne is nothing but a disorder involving sebaceous glands and hair follicles. Acne results from the clogging of sebaceous glands leading to the formation of pimples and cysts.
The condition usually begins with the onset of puberty. Going by the facts, as teens attain puberty the androgens also called male sex hormones are produced in high number leading to sebaceous glands becoming over active which results in sebum being produced in high proportions.

Sebum, which is nothing but oil is produced by sebaceous glands which travel to the skin surface through hair follicles. But, skin cells block the follicles which results in oil also being blocked. When these hair follicles are blocked it results in the development of skin bacteria known as Propionibacterium Acnes within the follicles which in turn results in swelling of the skin called Acne. ... read more >>

Most health questions by adolescents and about adolescents have to do with growth, girth, and development.

Often the adolescent patient or his parent wants to know if the patient's weight and height are "right" for his age, or "where does Mary fit on the chart?"
Gradually doctors and others have come to the conclusion that there is not one "right" weight for every boy who is thirteen years old.

A few years back studies of weight involved only two factors: the age and the weight of the individual. All figures were then lumped together and an average found, which was considered to be correct for that age. With increased study came an understanding that the proper weight for an individual depended not only on his age but also on his height. The average was then charted for those of differing heights within specific age ranges. This meant that three factors were now taken into account: weight, age, and height.

More recently another very significant factor has been added to these three: the age at which the individual has reached, or will reach, the developmental stage known as puberty. It has been found that girls who start their menstrual life at ten or eleven years of age and boys who will reach puberty at eleven or twelve are much likelier to be taller and heavier children than those who will reach puberty at a later age. These differences are noticeable throughout childhood. ... read more >>

Well seems to be a common occurrence when you have a little person – that is visiting the doctor. I took Pyper to the after hours medical care to get her ears looked at, she was very unsettled grumpy and kept pulling at them.

So we waited and then saw the doctor, I recalled in my mind how many times I had taken her to our regular GP and as this was a Saturday our family doctor wasnt available. I counted it was her fourth time in what seemed like 3-4 months.

The doctor said yes her ear drum was inflamed but wouldnt be prescribing any antibiotics – OMG i just about cried it was one of those shall i say something or will I just listen to reason??

Yep i just listened to reason this particular time! This is weird for me but I thought ok there must be a good reason for this diagnosis?? ... read more >>

Do you get flu jabs for your kids? Yes? No? According to a survey just released by American drug company MedImmune, 44% of all parents in the US have their children vaccinated. So what are the pros and cons?

Flu vaccination seems to be a hot topic at the moment in the country's current political fever as evidenced by the election-themed campaign "Flu Vaccination: Choose Your Administration." It's an effort to increase flu knowledge and empower Americans to take action for their health and the health of their families.

According to the media release by MedImmune, flu vaccination is an important part of the healthcare dialogue. The decision to vaccinate or not is particularly topical as it is the first flu season following expanded flu vaccination recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which now advises that all school-age children get vaccinated against the flu each year. ... read more >>

Pyper was on our bed with us, and so was the cat.... hmm ok I can hear what you are saying!!!
Pyper turned around and then burst our crying, and the cat jumped off the bed, i gave Pyper a hug as I didn’t see anything and just thought she was being a bit silly! After the hug she kept playing and then 10 minutes later I saw red scratch marks under her left eye and also on her nose and eye brow, I wondered what the hell was going on, and thought the damn cat must have scratched her. It must have been fast as it was directly under her eye and on her eyelid, it scared me, thankfully it didn’t look like it got her eyeball and she seemed to be fine. ... read more >>

I think one of the worst punishments for both parent and child is looking after them when you are sick!

This week both myself and my wife were sick, Renee went to work with the flu and I was looking after Pyper, I was sick and really not in the mood for running around chasing her, and having her scream at the top of her lungs with everything that she finds cute or not!

So what do you do when you have to look after a little person who may also be sick and you or your partner are in charge, and your sick also??

If you are really sick then you shouldn’t be looking after them at all. Call a friend or relative and ask them to come over? If they can’t then you should definitely ask your partner to help out. Possibly you might need ½ a day to recover and then they might be able to go back to work or if the job permits they possibly might be able to do it from home. ... read more >>