Crazy little thing called love!

 Unconditional love- a way in which we all want other people to love us.  Some say it is love without rules, others say it is to love in spite of anything?  What is unconditional love for you?  In almost every adult life there are needs that were probably not met by our parents or caregivers. Some of us still live with the after effects of a critical, absent, busy or tired parent that tried to give their children the best they could within their realm of experience.  We desperately try and do better, but sometimes it feels like running the Berg marathon without enough training!

A new Medical Centre for Harrismith!

There is an excitement in the air within the medical circles of Harrismith. The first Medical Centre in Harrismith's history is opening. The Medical Centre will consist of general practitioners, Dr Charlene Kemp and Dr Christine Boshoff, who are going to start practising at 17 Warden street (The old Dreykon building) on the 3^nd of  January 2012.

Antibiotics: Are they always the answer?

You wake up feeling you have a scratchy throat. As the morning goes by the nose starts running. By the evening the headache and muscle pains have developed, and by the next morning the chills and coughing cause you to call in sick at work. At the doctor, the words we so often use are, ”Doctor, I can't afford to be off for much longer. I need something to make me feel better quickly.”

I grew up thinking that antibiotics were the cure for all infections. With my dear mother being a pharmacist, the antibiotic would come home almost as soon as any of us developed a cough. But let's look at the word  'Antibiotics': The Latin word  'anti' means against and 'biotics' means bacteria. Hence antibiotics are active against bacterial infections. But were you aware of the fact that 80 to 90 % of the upper respiratory, and even lower respiratory infections that we get are actually viral infections?

Sien jouself SEXY Damestee

Understanding more about Hay Fever.

The incidence of Allergic Rhinitis, more commonly known as Hay Fever, nasal allergies, or ‘sinuses’ is extremely high in the Harrismith area. This is directly linked to all the different grass, pollen and tree types found in our area.

Allergic Rhinitis presents as a collection of symptoms occurring mostly in the nose and eyes, as a response to the inhalation of an allergen that you are allergic to, such as dust, pollen, animal hair, house dust mite, or mold. Interestingly, the trees, commonly implicated are pine, birch, cedar, horse chestnut, willow and poplar, which are found widely in Harrismith. Because the pollen causing the disorder is wind-borne, it occurs more often on hot, dry and windy days, than the wet rainy seasons when the pollen is washed to the ground.

The Role of Physiotherapy in Sinusitis and headaches

Millions of people suffer from a headache from time to time. Physiotherapy aims to restore the body to normal function by employing techniques such as massage, manipulation, mobilization, heat, hydrotherapy and electrotherapy. Headaches are a complex type of pain and physiotherapy can help put a stop to them.

After determining the cause of your headache, a physiotherapist will use many techniques and methods to treat the problem. The physiotherapist will suggest exercises and they will also give advice on correcting posture. This advice may include adjusting your work station or alternating furniture at home.

More than 90% of headaches fall into the following four categories:

• 1.       Tension or stress headache: The pain is often described as tightness or pressure and may feel like a band around the forehead.
• 2.       Migraine headache: These tend to give more intense and pulsating pain, mainly on one side of the head. Sometimes the pain may be preceded by an aura, visual sign, and often other symptoms may accompany the headache, such as loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting.
• 3.       Cervicogenic headache: This headache develops from pressure or damage to the neck or spine. They can be caused by incorrect posture, a whiplash injury or from certain diseases.
• 4.       Sinus headache

Spelterapie - meer as net speel?

 Spelterapie word al vir meer as 50 jaar nagevors en benut deur sielkundiges as deel van hul terapie met kinders.  Vir baie ouers is spelterapie opsigself nog ‘n onbekende veld wat dikwels verwar word met praktyke wat kinders leer hoe om te spel.  Spelterapie behels egter iets heeltemal anders en word erken as ‘n suksesvolle sielkundige intervensie met kinders, wat beoefen word deur ‘n opgeleide spelterapeut of sielkundige.

   

Therapeutic Listening

Jean Ayres se baanbrekerswerk in die veld van sensoriese integrasie het aan die lig gebring hoe belangrik die integrasie van inligting vanaf ons sintuie is vir die organisering van beweging, leer en gedrag. Die primêre fokus van sensoriese integrasie terapie is om sensoriese prosessering te bevorder deur die vestibulêre, proprioseptiewe- en tassintuie om sodoende self gegenereerde, doelgerigte aktiwiteit te fassiliteer.

Onlangse kliniese praktyke demonstreer die effektiwiteit wanneer klank in sensoriese integrasie strategië geïnkorporeer word. Baie kenners stem saam dat die ouditiewe sisteem ‘n kritiese skakel is in die sensoriese integrasie teorie. Therapeutic listening is ‘n innoverende program wat hoë kwaliteit ouditiewe stimulasie gee binne die sensoriese integrasie behandeling.

Baba & Kleuter stimulasie

Nuutste navorsing dui aan dat ouers hulle kleingoed moet besig en aktief hou ten einde te verseker dat die brein en liggaam optimaal ontwikkel en sy volle potensiaal bereik.  As ons mooi daaroor dink..…is dit mos eintlik hoe ons groot geword het.  Kan jy onthou hoe jy as kind ure voor die televisie deurgebring het en die een rekenaarspeletjie na die ander gespeel het?  Ek twyfel!  Die waarskynlikheid is eerder dat jy sal kan onthou hoe jy en jou beste maats fiets gery het oor die naweke, tente met komberse onder groot bome in die agterplaas “gebou” het, by die dorp se swembad baljaar het, water ballonne vir mekaar buite op die gras gegooi het, modder koekies gebak het en paaie en plaasdamme tussen die vrugtebome gebou het vir trekkertjies en trokke.  Die moontlikheid is ook groter dat jy erens ‘n foto van jouself as ‘n baba het waar jy iewers op ‘n kombuisvloer tussen ‘n paar plastiek speelgoed of teelepels en ‘n leë roomysbak gesit en speel as het, as ‘n foto waar jy knus toegedraai in ‘n kombersie in ‘n sit-stoeltjie gesit het.  Ons het almal met hope beweging en aktiwiteit groot geword.  Ongelukkig is dit nie vandag meer altyd die geval nie. 

The knot explained!

The role of trigger points in muscle pain…

Trigger points are felt as small, tender nodules and painful bands in skeletal muscles. These knots are hyperirritable spots. When muscles work in an eccentric fashion, that is a contraction occurs while the muscle lengthens, damage occurs within the muscle cells. The reason why these trigger points develop is because a neurotransmitter, Acetylcholine, is released in excess, which then causes a persistent, localized muscle contraction. This muscle contraction compresses blood capillaries which then reduces blood flow. Lower amounts of oxygen and glucose is then delivered to the muscle and an energy crisis is created. As a result, a number of pain sensitizing substances are released which activate nerve receptors that respond to pain. The muscle is unlikely to relax and thus, a vicious cycle is created.

Protect your hearing

Hearing allows you to interact with the world around you.  Helen Keller said it best:  ‘Loss of vision means losing contact with things, but loss of hearing means losing contact with people.’

There are numerous causes for a hearing loss, such as disease or infection, ototoxic  (ear-damaging) drugs, exposure to noise, tumours, trauma, and the aging process.  Unfortunately we can’t do anything about most of the causes, but we can protect our ears against loud noise.

What’s bugging my bowels?

Functional bowel syndromes:  Functional Dyspepsia/ Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Functional bloating

“Functional bowel syndromes are constellations of upper and / or lower abdominal symptoms unexplained by adequate medical examination. The commonest forms are defined by symptoms patterns and include bowel functional dyspepsia (FD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional bloating, functional diarrhea and functional constipation. These symptoms are the focus of much exiting research. The most common theories are based on changes in sensation (hypersensitivity), intestinal motility (muscle movement), intestinal permeability, enzyme or neurotransmitter function or changes in brain function. Some of these changes can occur after an infections illness or severe stress.

Heat injuries in Children

Four factors are believed to reduce a child’s ability to lose heat during exercise in a warm environment:

• Children produce more metabolic heat per unit of mass than adults during exercise at the same workload
• Children have a lower sweating capacity than adults
• Children have a reduced ability to transfer heat from the body core to the body surface
• Children have a greater surface area to weight ratio which facilitates heat gain from the environment during exercise in the heat. Children also acclimatize to heat more slowly than adults do.