Friday, October 23, 2020

Myths about Fever in Children

Most parents believe that a fever indicates that a child is seriously ill and that a high fever will cause brain damage in children.  Fever is actually the immune system fighting a virus or bacteria.    Fever may not feel friendly, but it is not necessarily a foe.  It helps the body fight the infection. Temperatures vary throughout the day and differ by age, activity level, and other factors. Most doctors consider 100.4 F to 100.9 F as the beginning of a fever, but parents will give Tylenol for elevated temperatures (below 100 F).

 

The following are important things to know about fever.

·         Normal temperature taken by mouth is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. 

·         A high temperature may indicate serious illness in teens and adults, but may not in children under 12. 

·         Rectal temperatures are most accurate, but are most important in the first 6 months of life. Armpit (axillary) temperature is appropriate for any age.  A digital multiuse thermometer may be the only kind needed. 

·         Children with a fever should be kept comfortable and be given lots of fluids, ice chips, and popsicles.  Dress them in light clothing. Tylenol may be alternated with ibuprofen.

·         If the child is not too uncomfortable and the fever not too high, it does not necessarily need to be treated.

 

Friday, October 9, 2020

Earworms

Earworms are not parasitic nematodes (round worms) that live in your ear.  They are sometimes known as a brain worm, sticky music, or stuck song syndrome.  Earworms are a catchy piece of music that repeats through a person’s mind when it is no longer playing.  Songs with lyrics may account for a little over 73% of earworms. While about 90 percent of people experience earworms at least once a week, music lovers have more frequent and longer earworm episodes.  Men and women experience earworms equally, but they tend to last longer and irritate women more. 

Although there are many postulations regarding the cause of earworms, why we get them remains a scientific mystery.  We do know that short catchy tunes are most likely to get stuck rather than a symphony.  Some things exacerbate earworms, such as frequency and duration of exposure to music, worry, stress, fatigue, and idleness. 

Some people can get rid of earworms, but others are unable to.  One technique, called exposure, involves listening to the entire song instead of the snippet that is repeating.  It is like a completion task.  Knowing  the whole thing eliminates need for it to be stuck in your head.  Another form of distraction is to sing the song out loud, but change some of the words or slightly throw off the melody.  This may cause the song to fade.  Another method is to come up with a competing melody to think about.