The frightening aspect of having a brain aneurysm is how you can have one quite suddenly and without a big, painful obvious warning. Some of the symptoms associated with brain aneurysms are ignored, thought to be normal headaches from stress or normal nausea from eating foods that are too spicy. Maybe you have had a headache for a couple of days, not a bad one, just a nagging that you take several aspirin for over the course of a day or so. You may have also had a spell of dizziness, right before the start of another headache. Maybe you blame all of these symptoms on stress or sleep deprivation, but before you do, learning more about brain aneurysms is a good idea.

A Huge Determining Factor For Your Survival Of A Ruptured Brain Aneurysm

If you suffer with chronic headache pain, checking your family history for brain aneurysms is important for learning more about your chances of having one. If your grandmother or uncle had one, seeing your physician about your headaches is vital. One tip to remember is be sure to maintain a healthy diet with plenty of green, leafy vegetables for increasing the health of your blood. In the event you have a brain aneurysm, your best chances of survival is in your blood being able to clot fast and strong at the site of rupture, so taking good care of your healthy and diet is extremely important to remember if you are dealing with headaches.

Headaches And Nausea Are Only A Couple Of Symptoms To Consider

If an aneurysm ruptures in your brain, you may have significant trouble breathing right away. However, some patients do not experience breathing difficulties at the presentation of the rupture. If you experience sudden difficulty breathing and a stiff neck after the onset of a severe headache, you should seek medical treatment as soon as possible to avoid serious or even deadly repercussions of a hemorrhagic stroke, a brain aneurysm.

Early Detection is Important To Catch Aneurysms Before They Rupture

Having surgery for the repair of a ballooning brain aneurysm increases your chances of surviving it. However, if your aneurysm ruptures, you risk suffering a major stroke or worse, death. If you are having headaches, do not put off seeing your doctor about what is causing them. Doing so could save your life if you have a brain aneurysm developing and ballooning.

The prospect of willingly having brain surgery is a terrifying thought for most people. However, you should know that because of the advancements made in medicine, surgical procedures in the brain are as common as the ones that are not. Visit a surgeon at Cedar Surgical Associates PC for more information.

As a parent, you have most likely seen your child suffer through many colds, stomach bugs, and infections. While common, seeing your child in distress can be overwhelming. Considering an estimated 10 million ear problems occur in babies and children each year, learning the signs of a possible infection is smart. If your child is having pain in the inner or outer ear, they may have an ear infection that requires immediate attention by their doctor. Thankfully, you can relieve some of your child’s ear pain before visiting a clinic or doctor’s office.

Cold or Warm Compress

To alleviate some of your child’s discomfort before heading to their doctor, consider using a cold or warm compress on the outer area of the ear.

Wrap a few cubes of ice in a clean cloth and have your child hold the ice against the ear that is in pain. Allow them to hold the cold compress to their ear for 10 minutes before removing. The ice will soothe the pain by numbing the area for a short period.

A warm compress is also a great option for reducing ear pain. If using an electric heating pad, turn the pad on to warm up. Be sure to test the pad’s temperature before allowing your child to hold it to their ear. If preferred, make a warm compress by soaking a clean cloth in a bowl of hot water. Wring out the excess water and allow your child to hold the cloth against their ear for 5 minutes.

Olive Oil

While surprising to hear, a few drops of olive oil in your child’s ear can reduce pain and help heal an infection. Olive oil contains phenols, which are anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial, so it is an effective ingredient for helping ease the symptoms of an ear infection.

Complete the following steps to ease your child’s ear pain with olive oil:

1. Add a few teaspoons of olive oil to a microwave safe bowl.
2. Place in the microwave for 15 seconds.
3. Test the temperature of the oil to make sure it is safe for your child’s ear.
4. Use a dropper to suction a small amount of the warmed olive oil from the bowl.
5. Allow your child to lie on the couch or their bed with their problem ear facing up.
6. Place 2 to 3 drops of the warmed olive oil directly into your child’s ear canal.

The olive oil will soak the ear canal, reducing inflammation and pain.

It is important to note that these methods will not cure your child’s ear infection, so visiting the doctor immediately is essential. Using these techniques, you can reduce your child’s ear pain before seeing a medical professional like those at West Ocean City Injury & Illness Center. 

Whether you’re a soon-to-be first-time parent or are expecting your youngest child, you may be amazed at the advances in medical technology that are improving the birthing process. From cord blood banking to hospital birthing tubs, the array of options now available to you can seem incredible and even overwhelming. One trend that has sparked a great deal of media attention recently is delayed cord clamping. What is this, and how can it help your baby? Read on to learn more about some of the benefits that may result from delayed cord clamping, as well as some situations in which this option may not be feasible.

What are the benefits of delayed cord clamping?

When a child is born (either vaginally or via a cesarean section), his or her umbilical cord is clamped almost immediately, preventing blood flow to and from the placenta (a process thought to reduce the odds of hemorrhage or other bleeding complications for the mother). Within the next few seconds, the father may then be asked to “cut the cord,” which permanently stops this blood flow. Once the placenta has been removed, both it and the remaining umbilical cord are discarded as medical waste.

There is now some scientific evidence that leaving the umbilical cord alone for a few minutes after birth can improve infant health. By allowing iron- and oxygen-rich blood to pass back and forth through the umbilical cord for a minute or two after birth, delayed cord clamping can decrease a baby’s risk of anemia or low blood oxygen levels, sometimes even helping your baby avoid a short stay in the NICU. 

Delayed cord clamping also won’t prevent you from having nearly instantaneous access to your child after birth — the cord can be moved or shifted so that you’ll be able to hold your child against you without worry.

Are there any situations in which delayed cord clamping is a bad idea?

Although delayed cord clamping can provide many benefits — particularly to babies who are at high risk for anemia — it’s not a good idea in every case. If you’re planning to give birth in a hospital that doesn’t have extensive neonatal care options (such as jaundice treatment), you may want to abide by the more traditional process, as in some rare cases, delayed cord clamping may cause or exacerbate infant jaundice. 

However, for the majority of hospital births, delayed cord clamping can improve an infant’s health with very little potential downside. If this idea appeals to you, ask your obstetrician or another doctor that specializes in newborn care whether delayed cord clamping is a good idea for you and your child.