Archive for the ‘child’ Category

Many issues can occur during pregnancy, including weight gain. While there is not a lot you can do to avoid some weight gain, there are steps you can take to simplify taking the weight off after your pregnancy is complete. This article will go over some great advice that will keep you fit when you’re pregnant.

Try not to gain too much weight. If you do gain a lot of weight while you’re dealing with pregnancy, you may make your health worse later and the weight can be a lot harder to lose. You should not gain more than thirty pounds over your entire pregnancy if you had an average weight in the beginning.

Do you have bun in the oven? Do you want to breastfeed? Do you want to find a way to be discreet while feeding your baby in public? Nursing apparel can help. There are lots of discreet nursing products available from many different companies. This means that you can breastfeed without anyone realizing. Additionally, you can practice nursing using a mirror, letting you see what others see and make the necessary adjustments.

Search through your house and office, and dispose of chemicals able to harm the progress of your pregnancy. Cleaning solutions are the biggest culprits, so find natural solutions. Keep using natural cleaners when you bring your baby home.

Much like everyone else, women who are pregnant, should avoid excess sunlight in order to protect the skin. Women have more sensitive skin when pregnant and can sunburn easily. This can cause greater problems such as cancer.

Take pregnancy classes early in your pregnancy. This will help to explain some of the things to expect, which should eliminate some of the stress that comes from fear of the unknown. It is also a great opportunity to get any questions that you have answered and off your mind.

Get familiar with your cycle to improve your chances of conceiving. Knowing when you’re likely to be ovulating will help you by scheduling the best times to get pregnant. This also helps you determine the likely date of conception, which assists in determining your due date.

Women in the seventh month of pregnancy or later should sleep on their left side. Sleeping in this position gives the fetus the best supply of blood and it allows the blood to easily go to your uterus and kidneys. Don’t sleep on your back, as this position is not good for blood flow.

Leg cramps are a common issue for pregnant women. Be sure you are stretching before sleeping and you can avoid those. Drinking water will also help ward them off, as well as making sure you are getting enough potassium, which you can get from eating foods like bananas.

Stay hydrated throughout your pregnancy. If you experience diarrhea or vomiting, drink water to avoid becoming dehydrated. While diarrhea can lead to dehydration, this is especially dangerous for women who are pregnant and may require hospitalization.

Take some prenatal vitamins before you get pregnant. During your first trimester, your baby is developing the neural tube cord, which will become the spinal cord and brain. Your own nutrition, even from the instant of conception, is very important. It’s essential that you have sufficient amounts of folic acid, iron and calcium during this time frame.

As previously discussed, weight gain can’t be avoided during pregnancy. Although you are eating more food, you can still remain healthy and active, which will help you to shed those extra pounds after you deliver. The focus of this article has been to help you achieve a wonderful and successful pregnancy.


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Article source: http://www.easytogetpregnant.com/blog/2013/06/10/the-basics-of-learning-to-be-a-mother/

The areas or aspects where one might want a share may vary:

  • A share in a successful and profitable practice to have a consistent money flow that could take care of bills and allow a prosperous living.
  • A desire for a prolific team that works competently and gets things done on time.
  • A need for a team of professionally skilled practitioners and therapists.
  • A team that can effectively communicate to sell products and services.
  • A successful website where products may be offered and sold to ensure a continued profitable practice and a strong industry presence.

People desire for such shares to feel fulfilled in life. However, putting it into perspective and being able to actually do it is the question. The answer lies in the APAN journal and books for business professionals.

Staying on top of the situation in a hurried world can be difficult. Being effective in every way despite being busy lies in the use of a technology, a tool that has to be mastered yet it is free!

Author Napoleon Hill touched on tapping the powers of it in his personal development book, Think and Grow Rich. It can also be seen in action in discussions where ideas, solutions and information are shared. For business owners, finding the answers that deliver results is being granted a share of what they desire in their professional lives. It plays a great role in this aspect.

The power of the Master Mind

  • Empowers the team to be their best and get things that need to be done, done!
  • Ceates powerful leaders and team members.
  • Allows freedom to be supported and motivated by others.
  • Provides energy to support leaders and team so that they are lifted and pushed forward.
  • Recognises everyone’s uniqueness and provides a space to share and grow.
  • Empowers everyone to stay focused and keep moving forward

The Master Mind Technology

Awareness key points show which and which will not maximize the full potential of the master mind. Assigning skilled team members is vital in keeping a profitable practice.

What Turns It Off

  • Directors or business managers who by default were put in-charge and have taken the role but don’t like running groups and speaking publicly.
  • An assigned person who has no understanding of the unique behavioural style and operating habits of other people.
  • A person without natural style so that the facilitating approach is boring, uninspiring and often focused on the negatives.
  • The group meeting structure or agenda is poor, boring and uneventful.
  • The meetings take up too much time and topics are discussed longer than necessary.
  • The busy person running the group is under large amounts of stress, hence, unfocused and just wants to be done and out.
  • Directors and managers fear each other due to the powers of employment and control placed over each other that true sharing and ability to master mind is sugar-coated to maintain a sense of self preservation, employing a ‘keep the peace’ approach.
  • Group leaders who have emotional ties to each other in the group so that often, emotions of resentment, judgement, disappointment, confusion, fatigue, supported by a poor skills set to manage the environment, runs in the background.

All these could poorly affect the desire to be focused, obscuring the team’s motivation to move forward, thereby affecting it to utilize its available space for growth. It could result to discontented team members whose desire for growth dips. Valuable team members may decide to leave and all the hard work and training goes out the door with them.

Turning It On

The master mind is a powerful machine and in order to get one’s desired share, it has to remain on at all times. Below is a list that can help keep the master mind working at its best and because business needs differ, some may need to be structured according to specific business needs.

Check List for Creating its Effect

  • Measures and modes of operations
  • Professional master mind facilitator to manage and support the group
  • Person has no emotional attachment to the group
  • Master mind group meets at a consistent time every month
  • Team makes agreement to consistently attend the master mind gathering
  • Intention of the master mind gathering is set by the team and all agreed on
  • Team members agree to take care of their mind and body to have a clear focus
  • The ‘practice’ vision is delivered and clearly committed to by the team
  • The intention of the master mind gathering is to get results
  • A space of open, safe and trusted sharing is allowed within the master mind
  • The space is positive, proactive, solutions focused, motivating and fun
  • The facilitator works with a clearly defined master mind structure
  • Structure focuses on Challenges to Clear, Miracles, Major Projects, Results, Actions
  • Master mind management is timely and efficient and productive
  • The WRAP methodology is used to assist in keeping master mind members to task
  • Team members unique styles are understood, recognised and acknowledged
  • Projects are broken into tasks and records kept on achieved and still to action
  • Specific training and education is conducted as part of the master mind
  • Commitments are made for what needs to be done by next master mind gathering

Accessing it through the items in the checklist could provide powerful ideas and opportunities that could help in managing a team that works. Should money be an issue to have an effective business facilitator regularly visit the office, it has to be viewed this way: the result that this would give far outweighs the costs of a losing business practice that is sure to head downward. Running the business with high quality team with personal development support is a sure investment that will soon make the money.

Fears and doubts is but natural in humans who don’t understand perceived dangers. That is why having an effective forum is important. It can help consistently support sound business practice that leads to success.

Getting out of bed each day to work is aiming to have the best. With a team that is happy and fulfilled, work becomes pleasure which eventually can lead to dreams and goal achievement. If master mind forum is not being utilized in the office yet, this is the time to do so. Assistance and specific business strategies will be provided to address the needs of a successful practice.

Trevor is a successful business owner, coach, book author/writer in Success With Women. Learn more about Master Mind – How to Maximize It

Related Articles – master mind, master mind gathering, mind gathering, master mind facilitator, keeping master mind,

Article source: http://www.amazines.com/Motivation/article_detail.cfm/5758050?articleid=5758050

Girls get emotional a lot, that’s pretty much a known fact. But right now I’m just going to concentrate on the depression…the rest are a-whole-nother story haha…and since I’m feeling depressed right now, I need this for myself as well.

When you’re feeling down…try not to think about it. Even if everything around you, like it is for me, seems to be trapping you and holding you back. And there’s just this nagging feeling always scratching the back of your mind. It’s like an annoying pet trying to get your attention but you’re just too busy to play with it.

I guess this type of depression that I’ll try to cover, is the kind that some girls feel when they are overwhelmed…there’s just too much going on for them, whether it’s friend problems, boy problems, family problems, or fashion emergencies. Either of those can be just as overwhelming as the other.

But the best thing to do in any of these overly-overwhelming situations, is to just relax. Take a deep breathe, and everything will start to slow down and feel better already. You’ll feel yourself calming, and giving your brain some air is actually good for you. When you don’t breathe, or are deprived of oxygen, that’s how you get headaches…

lol jk I’m not even sure, but I DO know that when you drink too much alcohol, it dehydrates your brain and that’s how you get hangovers. So using that logic…it makes sense right? Well logically it does, so let’s just go with it.

Take a deep breath, drink some nice cool water. Green tea is also recommended. Just let that theanine calm you down. (In short, theanine is an amino acid that is naturally found in green tea. It’s mostly meant to calm you down and make you feel more relaxed yet focused at the same time. Correct me if I’m wrong though!)

Anyways, the best kind of medicine is to just be happy :] Or in other more commonly used words, laughter is the best kind of medicine! In any situations, those words will always hold true, no matter how upset or depressed you are.

All in all, stay strong and don’t give up! Things will always start to get better sooner than you think (:

Related Articles – depression, how to be happy, confidence, self-esteem, self-improvement, girls, girl advice, ,

Article source: http://www.amazines.com/Motivation/article_detail.cfm/5762676?articleid=5762676

Be a winner!

For anyone to be a winner in life, it is important for one to win over his shortcomings. The simplest way to do so is to identify the areas where one lags behind or the areas where one would like to make an improvement. One can take a note of these things and can set small goals that will help one to succeed over the shortcomings. Here a few steps that can help you in achieving your goals:

1. Prepare a road-map: As mentioned above, identify your weak areas. Once you have set your goals, prepare a road map that will help take you close to your goals. For instance, if someone is overweight and wants to loose some weight, the weak areas could be eating excess of sugary products,lack of exercise etc. To begin with, one can decrease the intake of sweet and sugary products and can begin exercising for at least fifteen minutes per day. Day by day, one can make more efforts to improve and get ahead and close to the goal.

2. Stick to the plan of action: Preparing a road map is important, but it will only make a difference when one sticks to this plan. One will have to make consistent efforts to achieve the goals. If the goals seem too far, one can start with achieving small goals that will help one to achieve the ultimate goal.

3. Stay motivated: It is important to keep oneself motivated. This helps one to get inspired to achieve the goals that one had set. One will himself get motivated if one gets little achievements on the path of achieving the ultimate goal. One can also celebrate the little achievements to get self-motivated. Another way that works is to reveal the achievements to known people who will motive the person to achieve even more. Taking the same instance, a person looking forward to shed some kilos can share his success story after he has succeeded in shedding some weight.

Today, to help Achieve Your Goals, an innovative idea has been drawn by many people. There are goal listing and managing websites where one can create a profile to add his goals that he wishes to achieve. The best part is that whenever one lists some goal, one invests some money into his goal. Since, no would want to loose his invested money ( which is lost in case one does not succeed in achieving his goal), one works hard in the direction of achieving one’s goals.

Related Articles – achieving, your, goals,

Article source: http://www.amazines.com/Motivation/article_detail.cfm/5768235?articleid=5768235

A positive attitude leads to a positive result and it should be obvious to anyone. Sustaining a positive attitude is a crucial factor in your ability to succeed in life and keep yourself steady even through hard times. People having a positive attitude as what Paul A. Garcia of ACG companies have, are well motivated and very dynamic for work. They set up a positive tone for everyone in the team or company to follow or adapt. Leaders must show a positive image their company when dealing with their customers and other potential customers. If their people do not display a positive attitude, their chances of being able to bring their company into a more successful future will be relatively hard.

Even the some of most renowned business figures like Paul A. Garcia and top executives, need a boost positive attitude once in a while to keep them fired up. He have to keep himself in the flow while inspiring others to stay positive. For you to stay positive, you need to love and be thankful for your job. By doing these, you will be more productive, more creative, and more passionate for your work. You can think of most successful people in the world, and you will see that most of them are passionate about what they are doing and tend to love their job. People with a positive attitude think that, if they have a job where they don’t take pleasure in, they keep themselves positive by thinking of it as a steppingstone to something greater in the future. If you play a positive attitude, you will aim more, do your best no matter what and make the best out of it. You can never have the total control of what will happen in your company and also in your personal life, but the positive attitude in which you choose to start your day, approach to your work, and respond to the people connected to you is completely within your control. And, your attitude in facing any situation, present or future, is within your power to choose on how to deal with it.

In life, there is no easy way leading to success, you can’t achieve success if you don’t believe in it. You got to believe in your company, in its products or services, in its people and in your potential to take the lead. It’s also making the customer feel your belief from your words and actions.
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Article source: http://www.amazines.com/Motivation/article_detail.cfm/5768228?articleid=5768228

Even experienced mothers can experience stress and emotional turmoil during pregnancy. If you understand how to manage pregnancy, you will have no problem. Read the tips below to find out how to fully enjoy your pregnancy.

To ensure the best nutrients for the baby and you, adjust your eating habits. If you are a fast food eater, then it’s best that you change your diet to something that is much healthier as soon as possible. Eat healthy foods such as lean proteins along with fruits and vegetables.

Are you pregnant? Do you plan on breastfeeding your baby? If you plan to breastfeed, you must be able to do so discretely at any time. Nursing clothing can help you keep your privacy! Discreet breastfeeding is easy with specially designed clothing. With these, no one will be able to see what you’re doing. So you can tell what it looks like to others in public, try nursing at home looking in a mirror and making adjustments.

When you are pregnant, make sure to wear sunscreen even if you never did. You should avoid all tanning beds, as well. Your skin may be more sensitive while you are pregnant, making sunburn or sunspots more likely. Make sure that any sunscreen you use is safe for your unborn baby.

Exercise and being active are important to a healthy pregnancy and an easier birth and recovery. Light to moderate exercise, that does not overly stress your body, can help you have a shorter labor and lose your baby weight quickly after delivery.

If there’s a cat in your home, make someone else change the litter during the months a child grows in your womb. The chemicals in soiled cat litter can be harmful to a woman, and her fetus, during pregnancy. Just ask family or friends to take care of the chore for you until after the baby is born.

If you are pregnant, you need to make sure to exercise on a regular basis. This reduces your chances of miscarriage and your hours in labor, and also it makes getting back to your pre-pregnant form faster after delivery.

To prevent stomach upset at the beginning of your pregnancy, eat small meals. You will have a small amount of food in your stomach at all times but not enough to make you feel ill. Concentrate on eating foods that are light and fresh. Foods that can help include lean meats, vegetables and fresh fruits.

Women who are constipated when pregnant should eat high fiber foods, fresh produce and whole grain items. Constipation is caused during pregnancy by hormones. Constipation can cause some gastrointestinal issues for someone who is pregnant, and it does not feel very good.

Heavy Items

To prevent stomach upset at the beginning of your pregnancy, eat small meals. Try eating foods that soothe upset stomachs. Eat healthy, light fare as well, like salads. Eat lots of lean meats, fruits, and vegetables.

Don’t hesitate to ask someone for help with picking up heavy items if you’re pregnant. If you choose to life a heavy object yourself, you could miscarry your baby or even strain your back. So, even though you think the weight is manageable to you, you should still have someone lift and carry heavy items for you.

Good advice always comes in handy. Following good advice is important and helps to relieve some of the stress that comes from the unknown. Pregnancy ought to be a joyful thing. This event can be even more beautiful if you have the right information on hand, and choose to stay in optimal health.


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Article source: http://www.easytogetpregnant.com/blog/2013/06/12/the-journey-toward-meeting-your-baby-what-to-do-during-pregnancy/

A looming crisis in Asia as women delay giving birth, leading to low fertility rates that have dire implications for economic growth, is opening huge opportunities for the fast-growing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) industry.

The successful debut of Australia’s Virtus Health Ltd, which this week became the first IVF specialist to list on a stock exchange, is the latest sign that investors are eager to back fertility companies that have plans to expand into Asia’s vast developing markets.

“The market is going to grow massively, there’s no doubt, particularly in India and China we’ve seen huge growth,” said Robert Norman, fertility expert and president of Aspire, an Asia-Pacific industry lobby group.

Several countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea have fertility rates of less than 1.5 births per woman, a level experts consider very low. In contrast, the United States has a fertility rate of around 2.01 and Australia 1.9.

Governments in the region’s more affluent countries are becoming concerned about the “low fertility trap”, where fewer children leads to reduced spending on education and accompanying services, making it even more difficult to boost birth rates.

In the short term, very low fertility increases GDP per capita because households benefit from lower parenting costs. But in the longer term the size of the labor force falls as the population ages — a situation already in evidence in Japan.

To avoid the trap, some countries have introduced financial support for infertility treatment, including South Korea, which has a fertility rate of 1.4 according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures. Singapore, which has a fertility rate of 1.29, increased its subsidies from January, covering up to 75 percent of the treatment costs for couples receiving IVF.

Developing economies such as Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines have higher fertility rates, but are still keen to boost births to counter ageing populations.

Regional giant China, with its increasing affluence and urbanization, is another IVF growth market because the technology is “not that widespread”, said Gary Ng, a Singapore-based analyst at CIMB Research.

Indonesia, with a fertility rate of 2.1 but an ageing population of about 240 million people, was “virtually untapped” from an IVF-provider’s perspective, said Norman of Aspire.

India is currently dominated by Fortis Bloom Fertility and IVF Center, part of the country’s No.2 hospital chain Fortis Healthcare Ltd, and a joint venture with Spain’s IVI Max Reproductive Medicine and part of healthcare group Max India Ltd.

The South Asian nation has one of the highest fertility rates in Asia, at 2.2, but it also has liberal laws on commercial surrogacy which make it an attractive destination for IVF services.

All of these factors are opening doors for companies like Virtus, whose home market in Australia is nearing maturity as IVF cycles drop due to improving technology and government funding for private services is reduced.

“(Asia) is certainly a market that is highly fragmented and fairly immature,” Virtus Chief Executive Sue Channon said. “So we would look to be able to take some of the consolidation and corporatization that has occurred in Australia into some of those countries.”

Channon said Virtus would look at acquisitions, joint ventures and technology transfer possibilities in Asia, likely through cash and equity deals.


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Article source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/health/~3/xZiCMT_JUl4/

As a doctor, I get a lot of health questions both in my practice and in my e-mail inbox. Today, I found one from a mom whose 8-year-old child suffers from migraines. How do you deal with an “adult” illness that affects a young child? Read on for my advice.

I have an 8 year old son who is suffering from migraines. One time, his migraine was so intense, he cried all the way to the ER, after we tried unsuccessfully to treat it at home. I have been told that there are adult medications for migraines that can be used on children in a smaller dosage. However, according to my pediatrician, they have not been tested on children and because such a small percentage of children get migraines, they will probably never be tested on children. My son has a migraine at least once a week, sometimes more. Is it worth putting him on one of these medications, and if not, what can I do to ease the discomfort without ending up at the local emergency room? – Carla

Carla, I understand your frustration. It is very hard to watch and deal with a young child grappling with migraine headaches. Because there are so many factors that could trigger a migraine, it can be difficult to pin down the exact root of the problem.

The first thing that I would say is that I hope your child has been seen by board certified pediatric neurologist who has properly diagnosed him with migraines.

Sometimes, it can be very difficult to get a proper medical history from children. It can be especially confusing for them to try to describe the location and timing of migraine headaches.

However, remember there are many other conditions that could mimic a migraine in a child, such as sinusitis or dental problems, which can both result in head pain.

If migraine is in fact the actual diagnosis, then the treatment becomes multi-faceted.

Key components of treatment include making sure the child gets enough rest and sleep, as well as utilizing the over-the-counter medications that your physician recommends. Most likely, a physician will prescribe a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug such as aspirin or ibuprofen.

Prevention, of course, is even more effective than treatment.

There usually tend to be two culprits in pediatric migraines. One is nitrates, which is found in many foods that kids eat such as packaged foods, processed lunch meats and hot dogs.

The other culprit is monosodium glutamate, or MSG. MSG is a flavor enhancer that is found in baking mixtures, chips and gelatins, among other products. It is highly toxic for many people that suffer from migraines.

So while working with your physician, it is key that you also focus on nutritional aspect of children’s health. In doing so, your child may suffer from fewer migraines and require less drugs, which, as you state in question, have not been clinically tested in children.

Send me your health questions on Facebook and Twitter.  And remember to join me for my weekly health live chat every Wednesday from 2-3 pm ET.
 

Article source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/health/~3/Q2mHXjMH8lk/

There’s a new breed of airport dog. They aren’t looking for drugs or bombs — they are looking for people who need a buddy, a belly to rub or a paw to shake.

“His job is to be touched,” volunteer Kyra Hubis said about Henry James, her 5-year-old golden retriever that works a few hours a week at the San Jose airport. “I am just standing there with him. They are talking to him. If I need to answer for him, I do. But I am at the end of his leash, he’s not at the end of mine.”

Mineta San Jose International Airport is widely credited with introducing the first airport therapy dog in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, when flights were grounded, passengers were stranded and reaching friends and relatives in the East was nearly impossible. Passengers were anxious and afraid.

Enter Orion, owned by a volunteer airport chaplain who got permission to bring the dog to work. He made such a difference that San Jose formalized the program and now has nine dogs. Miami International Airport got onboard the program with one and Los Angeles International Airport has 30 and is hoping to expand its program.

The dogs are intended to take the stress out of travel — the crowds, long lines and terrorism concerns.

You never know why people are flying, said Heidi Huebner, director of volunteers at LAX, which launched Pets Unstressing Passengers (PUPs) in April. Travelers might be in town for a vacation, a funeral, to visit a sick family member or to attend a business meeting.

“You can literally feel the stress levels drop, people start smiling, strangers start talking to each other and everybody walks away feeling really, really good,” Huebner said.

Dogs have to be healthy, skilled, stable, well-mannered and able to work on a slack 4-foot leash, said Billie Smith, executive director of Wyoming-based Therapy Dogs, Inc., which certifies the LAX animals. They have to be comfortable with crowds, sounds, smells — and they need to pass through security like all airport workers.

Handlers are taught to watch for people who fear or dislike dogs or those who might have allergies. In most cases, people approach the dogs, identifiable by the vests or bandannas they wear.

Los Angeles’ dogs, which are featured on trading cards, are as varied as its airport passengers. There’s a long-haired Dalmatian, a Lab-pointer mix, a field spaniel, a poodle, three Australian Labradoodles, a Doberman and a 150-pound Irish wolfhound named Finn who has two tricks.

“He looks you in the eye and lays down on the job,” said owner Brian Valente. “When I’m around Finn, it makes me feel like things are OK. When Finn’s around other people, they are OK. It’s almost instant, even if just for a moment,” Valente said.

Miami’s sole dog, Casey, a 4-year-old golden retriever, is a star. She has her own website, fan mail, business cards and a role on “Airport 24/7: Miami,” a weekly reality show on the Travel Channel.

“Casey is so pure and genuine,” explained Dickie Davis, director of terminal operations and customer service. “She’s not asking for anything or selling anything. She is just a love magnet.”

When Claudia McCaskill’s family recently flew home from vacation in Brazil she requested Casey meet the plane to greet her 5-year-old daughter, Carina, who is autistic. She knew Carina would be low on energy and patience and they still had a 2.5-hour drive home to St. Lucie.

Casey and handler Liz Miller were there with a gift basket and Carina fell in love with the dog.

“Thank you for visiting us at the airport so I would be happy,” Carina said in a video the family made for Casey.

Now Carina wants to go back and see Casey again.

“I can’t say how much we appreciate what they did for us. It not only helped our daughter, but us too,” McCaskill said.

Despite all the smiles, there are also hard moments.

Before departing from San Jose, a soldier kneeled down and told Henry James: “OK, buddy, you take care of the house while I am gone,” Hubis said.

A woman who said her husband of 40 years told her he wanted a divorce that morning wept on Henry’s shoulder.

“He just sat there,” Hubis said. “He knew. He can feel.”

Article source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/health/~3/wqy0U7KbEQc/

Nearly all childhood cancer survivors have at least one chronic health condition by the time they reach middle age, a new study suggests.

In the study, 95 percent of childhood cancer survivors had a chronic health problem such as hearing loss, heart valve abnormalities, lung problems, memory problems or new cancers by age 45. (For comparison, about 38 percent of adults in the general population who are ages 35 to 64 have at least one chronic health condition).

While some cancer survivors in the study had no symptoms from these problems, about 80 percent had a life-threatening, serious or disabling condition, the study found. Considering that participants in the study were relatively young (the average age was 32), the prevalence of disorders typically associated with old age was particularly striking, researchers said. Those disorders include cataracts (15 percent), nerve pain (20 percent) and cognitive impairment (35 percent).

These findings suggest that in some cases, cancer treatment may accelerate aging, the researchers said.

The findings underscore the need for doctors to monitor childhood cancer survivors for conditions that could cause significant health problems if not detected early, the researchers said. Physicians should check for new cancers, heart disease and additional problems that can be improved with treatment, such as vision deficits.

Childhood cancer survivors should be aware of the treatment they had when they were younger so that their doctors can order appropriate screening tests, said study researcher Kirsten Ness, of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Some survivors may be able to reduce their risk of certain health conditions. For instance, cancer survivors who are at risk for high blood pressure or blood fat levels may be able to reduce their risk of these conditions by following a healthy lifestyle (eating healthy foods, exercising and not smoking), Ness said.

Childhood cancer, adult health

Some cancer treatments may increase the risk of adult health problems because the treatments damage normal tissue in addition to cancer cells, Ness said.

Most previous studies of childhood cancer survivors asked participants about their health problems, but did not evaluate them with a medical exam. These studies thus likely underestimated the prevalence of chronic conditions.

In the new study, 1,713 childhood cancer survivors underwent a battery of medical tests such as measurements of blood pressure, blood glucose levels, resting heart rate, heart electrical activity and thyroid function. Some participants, who were considered “at risk” for certain conditions because of the type of cancer treatment they had received in childhood, were also screened with more specific tests, such as mammograms to detect breast cancer among women who underwent chest radiation.

In these “at risk” survivors, lung problems were diagnosed in 65 percent of patients, hormone problems involving the hypothalamus and pituitary gland were diagnosed in 61 percent, heart abnormalities were diagnosed in 56 percent, and cognitive impairment, including memory problems, was diagnosed in 48 percent.

Participants were survivors of childhood leukemia, lymphoma and tumors of the brain, bone and other organs.

Future research

Not all of the health problems detected by the tests were noticeable in everyday life. For instance, although tests showed that leukemia survivors who had received radiation experienced impaired memory, their ability to hold a job and carry out daily activities was not affected. Future research will be needed to examine how this problem, and other problems that don’t show symptoms, progress over time, the researchers said.

Additional studies should attempt to determine which factors predispose childhood cancer survivors to the conditions seen in the study, the researchers said.

The study was published June 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Article source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/health/~3/nfbgEWxWjLo/