Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog

Usually the parents themselves are under stress. The child may cry a lot, be fussy with food or often ill. The parents may be under stress for financial reasons, or may be a single parent.

Poverty, unemployment, isolation and inadequate housing may all cause stress which can show itself in abuse of children. The parents may have little understanding of child care and may see the child’s frequent waking or crying as a deliberate show of misbehavior.

Many of these parents have experienced problems in their own childhood. If they themselves have been mistreated during infancy and childhood, this may be seen by them as “normal” parent behavior.

Doctors and nurses are usually th^f irst people to be aware that child abuse may be occuring. Children are often brought to the doctor or hospital with unexplained injuries or the explanation does not tally with the injuries. Recognising that a problem exists and then seeking to refer the parents for counselling is better than seeking to punish the parent for their “crime”.

Sexual abuse of children is far commoner than we have believed. And that abuse is more likely to take place inside a family than outside.

The discovery of incest usually has led to conviction, and in the case where the father is the offender, to a jail sentence. This usually disrupts the family and may lead to pressures on the sexually abused child by the mother and family members due to the social stigma or financial problems which the family then suffers.

The United States seems to have a better policy in seeking to offer counselling to the offender, the abused child and the other family members in an attempt to preserve the unity of the family and the mental and physical health of its members. Punishing the offender often punishes the family as well.

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Precautions

•     An infant is temporarily immune to each of the three types of polio for four to six months after birth only if the mother is immune (because she’s had the disease or been vaccinated against it). The child needs a full series of vaccinations by mouth to achieve long-lasting immunity.

•     Anyone who has received injections of the original, dead vaccine (Salk) must have boosters or two full series of the Sabin vaccine to guarantee immunity.

•     Polio virus still exists in this country, and polio is epidemic in many other countries of the world. Since it is not possible to avoid it, immunization is essential.

Medical treatment

Your doctor’s diagnosis will be made on the basis of a physical examination and the results of a spinal tap. A child with a suspected or known case of polio will be isolated. A child who is not immunized and has been exposed to the disease will be given gamma globulin to prevent or lessen the severity of the disease. A child who has contracted polio will be given aspirin, paracetamol, other pain killers, and hot packs to reduce the pain. If polio causes paralysis, the child may need an artificial respirator, a tracheotomy (an opening into the windpipe through the neck), prolonged physical therapy, braces, or orthopedic surgery.

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•     As we saw above, the prevention of loneliness begins in the cradle by encouraging babies to be part of everything going on in the home. In this way a baby learns that life is full of interesting inputs and that boredom is unnecessary.

•     Older children should be brought up to understand that they can’t always have parents or other adults around to play with them-sometimes they must be able to entertain themselves for short periods. In this way children are brought up with reasonable expectations of the reality of adult life in which there will be periods of being alone which have to be coped with.

Make a virtue of loneliness. Many people say that once they have come to terms with loneliness they can also enjoy it-if only for the freedom it gives them. The secret of managing loneliness in adulthood is to cultivate the right attitude of mind to it. There are positive benefits to being alone and there are ways of reducing the amount of time you have to be alone if you don’t want to be.

•    Take the opportunity to get to know yourself better. If necessary get professional help from a doctor or counselor. By understanding yourself better you will be in a position to do something about your loneliness.

•    Many lonely people are shy or have poorly-developed social skills. There are good books about these subjects and social-skills training groups are now widely available. At one extreme end of the spectrum are those who say that they prefer their pets to human beings. Such individuals probably need professional help. Pets are undoubtedly a boon to the lonely but to want to be with them to the exclusion of humans, as some seem to, is not normal and could point to underlying personality or psychological problems-which could benefit from treatment.

•     One US expert on loneliness finds that talking to oneself is helpful. Saying things aloud is a form of tension release, he claims. Other experts find that a diary is a good form of self-communication. In it you should record not only what happened that day but your daydreams and fantasies.

•    Once you have insights into what you are like and what you want from life you can start to look outwards for things to do that will combat your loneliness. For many doing something for someone else works best. Helping an elderly or handicapped person or running something in the community such as a toddler group, or doing voluntary work at the local hospital, can work wonders for the unhappy, lonely person. If you want company yet find it difficult to meet people you get on with, try an evening class. At least all the people there will have one thing in common with you-the subject matter of the class.

•    Be grateful for what you’ve got-think of those who have far less and then try to relax and enjoy what you have.

•    If you are lonely within a marriage or other close relationship and are unhappy about it seek professional help.

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