DOHMS - News and Events

Changing the life styles
Recent studies have shown that children and adolescents are becoming less active and less mobile, especially in urban areas. This is due to reduced time, which is allocated for physical education, and as a result of watching more TV and electronic games. It is estimated that more than 2/3 of the youths in the developing or developed nations are not adequately practicing sports, although less physical activities during the childhood and youth may have adverse effects that may last the whole age.

Preliminary studies, which were conducted by the World Health Organization about the danger factors for a number of diseases, indicated that the life style that is characterized by less activities is considered the main factor of death and disability in the world. Absence of physical activity leads to increasing the probability of having vascular coronary diseases, diabetes, obesity, and it increases the probability of having colon and breast cancer, high blood pressure, disturbances in the blood fats, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression.

It is noticed that lack of mobility becomes characteristic of the modern era. While more than ½ of the adults in the advanced countries are not adequately active, but this phenomenon is increasingly developing in the big cities of the developing countries. This is because of the spread of the life style which is characterized by less movements and spending the free time in games which involve less movement, such as watching TV, even in rural areas of developing countries.

For example, the number of children and adolescents who walk to school is reduced, and the time allocated for watching TV and practicing electronic games is increased. In most cases, this is at the expense of the time allocated for physical activities and sports. The ultimate result is increasing the rate of obesity, diabetes and vascular coronary diseases.

The importance of practicing sports at the childhood stage
Practicing sport activities during the youth and childhood stages are especially important because the body is continuously growing. The body needs sports to ensure that the muscles, bones, heart, lungs and all other vital organs are growing naturally and properly. This is in addition to building the proper character, as many studies indicated that organized movements reinforce the growth of the youth from the physical, mental and psychological points of view and increase self-confidence and appreciation and the sense of achievement.

Most of the chronic diseases that attack the individual while getting old (diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, coronary diseases, and obesity) originate from the childhood and youth stages. It is known that practicing sports is considered one of the factors that help in preventing such diseases. This makes practicing these activities, since early childhood of special importance.

It is probable that the life styles that are acquired during the childhood and adolescent may continue for the whole life, including the life style which is characterized by less movements and malnutrition and drug addiction. This makes getting accustomed to practicing sport activities of utmost importance in order that they become a daily routine, which lays the foundations for healthy and efficient life.

The advantages of practicing sports activities during the childhood
Practicing sports activities regularly achieves important physical, social, and psychological benefits such as:

Wide participation in the group sports and playing and other physical activities, at the school or at the leisure time is detrimental for the healthy development of the children and youths. Providing the opportunity to reach safe places, required time, and role models that are shown by the teachers, parents and friends contribute in ensuring the progress of the children and youth to achieve good health.

What is the magnitude and the types of physical activities that should be practiced by the adolescents during this stage?

Home accidents are considered the most reasons that cause injuries and death to the children who are more than one year old. Most of the children injuries happen at home. The major accidents to which the children are exposed include: poisoning, electrical shocks, drowning, wounds, burns, falling down and suffocation.

When your child starts crawling and standing, this will be a start for new dangers. This requires more efforts in monitoring and caring about the child

How could you protect your child from the home injuries???
The important message, which we address to the mothers and guardians, is observing the children at all times as much as possible in order to avoid the home accidents.

Electrical shocks
Change all old electrical cords with new ones. Cover all electrical plugs to protect the children from electrical shocks.

Drowning
Do not allow the children to play near swimming pools as they may fall down and drown.

More efforts and care prevents the child from going to the emergency

Asthma in Children:

It is one of the allergies, which is transferred hereditarily from fathers to sons. Any kind of adult allergy such as the sinus allergy or eczema may reflect hereditarily in form of asthma.

Chronic infection which attacks the air path and leads to narrowing it down.
It is accompanied by difficulty in breathing and coughing and wheezing.
It comes at intervals that may last for moments or days.
It might be severe or light.

Factors that trigger asthma

Strong perfumes or chemical compounds.
Domestic animal hairs.
Smoke and dust.
Respiratory system infections.

Is it possible to prevent asthma
Prevention from the factors that cause asthma is the best way to avoid its occurrence. The most guidelines for that is the following:

Cleaning and washing the openings of the air conditioners daily.
Cleaning the carpet continuously or removing it and using ceramic tiles instead.
Washing the bed sheets with hot water weekly.
Getting rid of the domestic animals, insects and cockroaches.
Avoid burning scents or smoking inside the house.
Taking the prescribed medicines regularly.

How to treat asthma
The asthma is treated by removing the causes or decreasing the allergy of the child against this cause. The condition of any child may improve if a plan of treatment is followed. If the child is not treated, the disease will continue and will be more severe. Through the cooperation and participation of the doctor, a plan of treatment may be as follows:

Simple cases
This includes those who suffer when exposed to allergens or when practicing sport exercises, or the children who have infections of the upper respiratory system. These do not need prevention drugs, but are treated at that time. The treatment includes using some drugs which widen the air ways of the bronchus before exercising or before being exposed to the allergens. These drugs are administered by inhalation (the spray).

Simple chronic cases
These need daily treatment for prevention, and controlling the symptoms of the asthma by using anti-inflammatory drugs.

Medium chronic cases
These need daily treatment for prevention by using anti-inflammatory n drugs. Long term bronchus widening drugs should be used to control the symptoms especially the night coughing.

Severe chronic cases
It is difficult to completely control the case, but it is possible to alleviate the severity of the symptoms. This needs many daily treatments that include:

Anti-inflammatory drugs such as cortisone derivatives.
Long term bronchus-widening drugs.
Short term bronchus-widening drugs. These are always found and upon request and may be used three to four times.

Note

Asthma prevention drugs do not cause addiction.
Cortisone or its derivatives are among the most important and useful anti-inflammatory drugs. This drug does not have any complications if used under medical supervision.

Involuntary Urinating:

Some children could control their bladders when they are three years old or before that. Some children can control their bladders when they are 18 months old and 2 years at night. However, there are some children who could not control their bladders at night, which causes some psychological stresses on the child and his family.

Studies have indicated that 50% of the three years old children and 7% of the 5 years old children wet their beds at night.

When should the family consult the doctor?

If the child continues to wet his bed when reaching six or seven years old.
If the child continues to urinate involuntarily during the day.
If the child resumes to urinate involuntarily after one stopping for more than a year.

The reasons of the involuntary urination
There are physiological reasons that need to be evaluated and followed by the specialist doctor. Sometimes, the follow up should be by an integrated medical staff. These reasons are easily diagnosed. Some of these reasons are as follows:

Delay in the development of the urinary system such as the bladder that is unable to hold the urine for the whole night.
Presence of some problems such as infection of the urine or the diabetes.
Defect in the nerves that control the bladder.

There are psychological reasons, which are showed after the child is subjected to some psychological factors such as:

Insecure family atmosphere which has many disputes.
Separation of the child from his mother or the absence of one of the parents from the home.
Loss of a dear person for the child such as the death of the grandmother.
Having a new borne child and the child feels jealous as a result of changing to care about this child.
The mother ignores to train the child about controlling the bladder or start the training early before the physiological maturity that will result in opposite results.
Harsh education which calls for ideality for the child. The mother may be authoritarian or of a scrupling nature.
School problems with friends or teachers.

In all cases, the issue needs wisdom and patience from the family and may require the consultation of the psychologist to provide the required consultation for the family and the child.

What is the assistance that could be provided by the family?

Avoid using the hitting or reprehension punishment that may lead to opposite results and may lead to continue the urination at night as a proof of protesting and opposition.
Encouraging the child and praise him during the night or the moment when he controls the urination.
Provide supper earlier for the child and avoid giving him fluids after six in the evening.
Monitor the times that the child wets his bed and wake him few minutes before that time. If the family noticed that waking him would make him nervous, it is better not to wake him.
Leave a dim light in the child’s room to help him going to the washroom or change his cloth at night.
Use a calendar to mark the days on which the child controls his bladder. This method will motivate him to evaluate the situation and get determined to control the problem.
The family should not talk about the problem in front of others in presence of the child or compare the child with others of the same age who are not suffering from this problem.
Do not call the child with undesired names and deal with the problem secretly.
Make sure to clean the child and encourage him to take a bath and change his cloths.
It is better that the child sleeps in a separate bed and not beside him brothers.
It is better to put an absorbing pad to absorb the fluids to make the child more comfortable.
Follow the instructions of the doctor.

Your child needs help and care and not punishment

What are the methods of treating the involuntary urination
The involuntary urination alarm
This is a ringing alarm which is put under the sheet of the child or inside his pajamas which will ring as soon as the child start urination to force him to wake up and go to the washroom. It is preferred to use this method with older children.

Medicines
The doctor may prescribe some medicines if the cause is physiological. Also, there are some medicines that are prescribed by the doctor if there are no physiological reasons.

Psychological session
These sessions are held by trained psychologist. These sessions may be for the child alone and sometimes for the family only or both parties.

Consult the pediatrician to help you in solving the problem, and make sure that the problem will stop when the development of your child is complete.

Blood Iron Anemia

This is the noticed decrease in the percentage of the blood hemoglobin. The hemoglobin consists of iron (hem) and globulin (a type of the proteins). It is a red dye element that is found inside the red blood cells, and it is responsible for carrying the oxygen and nutrients to various cells of the body. The anemia may result from deficiency in the elements forming the blood dye such as iron and vitamin B12 and folic acid.

Reasons of blood anemia which is caused by iron deficiency

Malnutrition and less consumption of iron-rich foods.
Presence of materials that reduce the absorption of iron, and hence the body could not make adequate use of the available iron in the food. Examples of these materials is caffeine in tea.
Failure to take vitamin-rich foods which absorb the iron in the body such as vitamin C, which increase the efficiency of the body to absorb the iron to many folds.
Physiological changes increase the need of iron to increase the production of red blood cells.
Complete dependence on milk to feed the child during his development.
Blood loss as a result of hemorrhage.
Attack by some contagious diseases such as worms.

Symptoms of blood anemia

For the infants and children

Paleness of the skin color, as the color of eyelids becomes light rosy.
Impaired movement development.
Impaired language development.
Impaired learning development.
Laziness and inability to practice sport exercises.
Behavioral changes (nervous tensions).
Loss of appetite.

For the adults of both sexes

Dizziness and headache.
Pale color.
Heart beating and increase of its pulses.
Less blood or stopping of the menstrual period.
Less appetite.
Weak resistance of the diseases and fatigue.
Restlessness and sleeplessness.
Shedding of hair.

Treatment
Medicinal treatment
Through taking iron pills and adding vitamin C to increase the iron absorption from the digestive system.

Nutritional treatment
By taking iron rich foods. The dietetic iron is of two types:
1. Animal sources: (this is considered the fast absorbed in the body)

Red meats, poultry, fish, sardines, oysters, shell fish.
Organs’ meats such as (kidneys, liver, and brain).
Egg’s yolk.

2. Vegetable sources:

Vegetables such as beans, peas, and broccoli.
Leafy vegetables such as spinach, chorchorus, mint and parsley.
Pulses such as broad beans and lentils.
Some dried fruits such as dates, raisins and apricots
Iron-fortified cereal meals.

Ways of protection from blood anemia

Following balanced nutritional regime that contains iron-rich foods, especially children and adolescent girls, and pregnant women, as iron deficiency in pregnant women will have negative impact on the infant.
Caring about taking fruits and vitamin C-rich juices such as Citruses. (Lemon, orange, kiwi, mandarin, peaches, apricots, figs, kiwi, because this vitamin helps in absorbing the iron.
Being balanced in drinking the tea and coffee. Do not drink them immediately after the meals. It is preferred to add drops of lemon to the tea.
Avoid being attacked by the contagious diseases that lead to blood anemia and treat them immediately.
Undergo regular examination to test the hemoglobin and iron in the blood.

Protecting the children from accidents at home:

When your child starts crawling and standing, this will be a start for new dangers. This requires more efforts in monitoring and caring about the child

Poisoning

Do not leave poisonous compounds (household cleaning supplies, benzene, gas, pesticides) and medicines in places where the children may reach.
Do not use empty water bottles to store poisonous materials as the child may drink from them.
Put ornamental plants away from the children. Curiosity may lead them to eat plant leaves.

Electrical shocks
Change all old electrical cords with new ones. Cover all electrical plugs to protect the children from electrical shocks.

Drowning
Do not allow the children to play near swimming pools as they may fall down and drown.

Wounds

Do not leave knives, scissors, sharp objects, and broken glass or other dangerous tools at any place of the house that the child may reach.
Do not give the child any breakable toys (made of glass or porcelain) as this may cause serious injuries.

Burns

Do not allow the children to play near cooking stoves while cooking. Hide the matches and lighters to avoid any burns.
Be careful about hot fluids, do not put hot water at the bathtub and leave the child alone near to it. This may cause fatal burns.
Do not put a cover on the dining table, as the child may play with the cover and inflict some injuries on himself by the objects falling from the table.

Falling down

Do not leave windows and balconies without rails to protect the children from falling.
Do not leave the floor wetted with water, as the wetted floor may cause the children to fall down.

Suffocation

Do not leave plastic bags at the disposal of the children, as this may cause suffocation.
Do not leave small toys and other hard objects at the disposal of the children, as they may swallow and this leads to suffocation

More efforts and care prevents the child from going to the emergency

The appearance of the teeth is a physiological process where the teeth start to form after a short time of the formation of the fetus inside the uterus of his mother.

The types of teeth:
1. The temporary milk teeth (milk teeth)
Their number is twenty, ten in each jaw. During pregnancy these teeth start developing during the sixth and seventh weeks of the fetus age. The tissues of the teeth are formed at the end of the fourth month. The enamel and the crown are formed in the fifth month. The roots develop a short time before the teeth appear. It is worth mentioning that the diseases of the mother will have adverse effects on the teeth of the baby.

When do the temporary teeth appear?
After the child is six-month old, the first teeth incisors appear, followed by the front top incisors. The appearance of the teeth continues till the child is three year of age.

2. The permanent teeth
These teeth start to appear after the sixth year, and their number is 32, sixteen in each jaw.

Protecting the mouth and the teeth
The protection of the child’s teeth during the first year, as it is important to take care about the health of the teeth to prevent the formation of any cavities in the teeth which could happen when the first tooth appear. These cavities are formed as a result of improper bottle-feeding.

This period is considered the most critical period of the age of the child, especially regarding the nutrition. During this period the child start to do without his mother’s milk, as the milk is replaced totally by the normal foods. So, the child should be given foods that guarantee supplying him of the major nutritional elements and in amount suitable for his age and daily needs.

Also, this stage is considered a transitional stage of the life of the infant. This stage extends from one year to three years. During the second year, the development of the child becomes slow. But the changes continue in the child’s body, as the mass of the body increases as well as the density of the bones and muscles. The weight of the child increases from one 1 kg to 2 –3 kg and his height increases to 12 cm in the second year.

The child’s appetite
The energy requirement during this stage is not great. The family starts to be anxious about their child, as the appetite of the child decreases. So, the family thinks that they should make their child eat big meals. This makes the child to stop eating.

Make sure to give your child balanced and healthy diet that includes the nutritional elements among the major nutritional groups (bread, cereals, fruits and vegetables, meats and products, milk and products). This is to ensure that your child has healthy and varied diet, so that the child may have enough storage of the nutrients that help him to satisfy his urgent growth needs during the adolescents.

The daily caloric requirement (calories)
The recommended energy for the child from 1 – 3 years is 102 calories for each kilogram of the body weight. As for the child 4 – 6 years, we find that the allowed calories decrease to 90 calories per kilogram of body weight.

The daily requirement of fats
If the child obtains 1% of his daily energy requirement in form of the basic fatty acid “linoleic acid”, he will be protected from the diseases resulting from the deficiency of this acid. This acid is involved in forming the cells of the brain, sexual cells, the cells lining the nerves, and the health and safety of the skin tissues. Also, the fats are considered good vehicles to transport the fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin (A, D, E, & K), which lead to increasing the dietetic calcium absorption as a result of increasing vitamin D. It is recommended not to increase the fat intake more than 40% from the daily energy requirement which is needed by the child in order to prevent diarrhea or digestion problems, and to avoid physiological problems in the future such as high blood pressure and vascular diseases resulting from the increased cholesterol in the blood.

The dietetic sources that supply the child with his fat requirements are: “milk and products, peanuts, nuts, eggs and meats”.

So, it important to note that we should be careful that taking more fat (such as drinking lots of full fat milk) may affect the appetite of the child and prevents him from taking other foods. Thus, we should maintain balance and variety in the meals.

Daily requirements from the proteins
Child need for protein is attributed to its importance in increasing the cellular division and size of the tissues and organs and the blood volume.

An increase of 2 grams of protein for each kilogram of the normal weight of the body, is adequate in supplying the child with his needs. It is essential to provide the children with good quality proteins, which contains all essential amino acids that the liver could not make. These kinds of proteins are found in the animal-source foods such as milk, cheese, eggs, meats, fish, poultry and soybeans.

Vitamins and minerals
The demand for vitamins and mineral remains high as long as the child’s development continues from one stage to the other. The varied foods provide most vitamins and mineral salts in the amounts needed by the child. There are many studies which proved that a high percentage of children suffer from iron deficiency which leads to behavioral changes in the child and may affect the functions of the nervous system. The children most susceptible for iron deficiency are the following:

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