Homeopathy for our kids

 My 2nd guest post is by Dr. Gopikrishnan Nambiar who is a well-known Homeopath, practicing since 2001 at his clinic Homeoworld at Goregaon and also at Bhaktivedanta Hospital, Mira road and has also started blogging recently. 

Dr. Gopikrishnan Nambiar became a homeopathic doctor by choice; after the “sweet sugared pills” relieved him of his childhood sickness when other medicines failed. After finishing his graduation in 1995 from Fr. Mullers Homeopathic Medical college, Mangalore he started his practice. Then in 1997 he joined for his MD (homeopathy) in Materia medica at A. M. Shaikh Homeopathic Medical College, Belgaum, Karnataka.

After his completion of MD studies in 2000, he has been working as a Consultant in his Clinic “HomeoWorld” since 2001 which is jointly run by him and his wife who is also MD in Homeopathy and as a Consultant in Bhakti Vedanta Hospital since 2002.

He shows special interest in treating respiratory diseases, Autism, ADHD, skin diseases, PCOD, Infertility & Kidney Stones.

My whole family, who is being treated by Dr. Nambiar, when I told him about this blogging challenge and requested him to do a guest post, he was more than obliged.

Over to you Doc…

Many of the illnesses of childhood can be effectively treated with homeopathy. There are many disorders that make a child differently abled, like autism, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, ADHD etc. Ever since the science of homoeopathy was introduced 200 years ago Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, homeopathy is gaining popularity as an alternative treatment for these children. Today, there are many paediatricians preferring homoeopathic treatment for their children and patients. Children respond wonderfully to simple homeopathic medicines. The sweet pills and powders are easily accepted by children.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder of children. It is often believed to have genetic component. Children with ADHD are impulsive, overactive, inattentive, poor learners, and are frequently disruptive, aggressive and uncontrollable. 

Homeopaths who are treating children for ADHD have reported good results. In a study it was observed that the children receiving homeopathic medicines showed significantly less ADHD behaviour than those given placebos. 

Autism, when compared to ADHD is much more difficult to treat. However homeopaths who treat autistic children are seeing significant progress in majority of cases. If treatment begins early, i.e. before the age of 5 there is room for great hope. Even later treatment can find success. But you must have commitment and patience as treatment is a long term process that will take months and years, not just days or weeks.

If your child shows delays in reading, doing mathematics, difficulty in reading and writing, take your child to a homeopath, not only will these specific problems be treated, but your child will be assessed as a whole person. Homeopathy will address his other illnesses in addition to the learning challenges. Within weeks or a couple of months of finding the right homeopathic medicine, you will find noticeable changes in your child.

The children after starting homeopathic treatment shows improvement in grades in school, ease at doing homework, changes in behavior and in handwriting. The child’s confidence and maturity increases. Teachers can appreciate the changes in the child’s learning skills. 

Cerebral Palsy is the commonest cause of physical disabilities in childhood due to defects of brain during pregnancy, child birth and the first few years of birth. 
CP child has damaged brain, so it develops very slowly. Development in CP children depends on the severity of brain damage.

Homeopathic medicines improve I.Q and neuromuscular abilities, so milestones start appearing faster. It improves in neck holding, sitting, standing and walking. It improves in understanding of the child, calculating capacity and schooling capacity. It stops recurrent infections. So the child regains immunity to fight diseases. It improves the child’s anxiety, depression, tightness of arm and leg muscles and squint.

Epilepsy is a disorder of central nervous system. The convulsions are commonly labeled as grand or petit mal (complete or partial according to symptoms). Homeopathy offers a cure in cases of epilepsy but the time taken will depend up on the severity of the case. We have many complete cures where the patient remains free from attacks of fits. Constitutional homeopathic treatment is the right option for epilepsy, however there are acute medicines which take care of attacks of epilepsy and prevent recurrence.

The homeopathic approach in handling chronic disorders depends up on the totality of symptoms presented by the patients. It targets the genetic tendencies as well and thus offers effective management.

The homeopathic case evaluation of the children who are physically challenged includes detail study of presenting complaints, past history, family history of serious diseases, personal history and mental and emotional status of the individual child. The case analysis also takes into account of altered behaviour, social skills, communication, speech, tantrums, etc. It is easy to take. The pills are sweet and are absolutely non-toxic.

Homeopathic medicines vary from individual to individual as its prescribed according to the symptoms.

The key is …..The earlier the age, the better success .

Gluten free Brownie by Gauri Kekre

Yippee 1^st guest post on my blog…

When I was preparing for this challenge, I wanted to cover different aspects for differently abled kids; therapies, conditions, food etc. Recently I got acquainted with famous baker cum blogger cum dentist Dr. Gauri Kekre. And while we were just discussing the challenge in our group, I casually asked her if she can do a guest post for me. She readily agreed.

Gauri is dentist by academics, mother of two cute, angel daughters, and baker by chance and choice.  Baking is one territory which many dread to tread as it requires exact measurement. One mistake and all effort go waste and it’s difficult to fix unlike other dishes. But not Gauri, she started baking for her family and close knit friends and slowly by trial-and-error methods she learnt the art of decorating cakes. Her creative ideas started getting her orders and now she has turned into full time baker, weaving magic and churning out mind blowing cake designs.

Thank you Gauri for doing this article.

Now let's hear from Doctor-Baker herself… 

Gluten-Free Casein-Free Brownie recipe for Special Needs Children.

A cake is a universally loved food, and in kids especially, it is usually a raging favorite. But what if you have a child with special needs, who cannot digest the gluten and casein present in most cakes?

Parents whose children are diagnosed as special needs children, especially those with ADHD or autism, are always on the lookout for a diet which can significantly improve the quality of life of their kids. However it need not mean that the kids never get to enjoy goodies in pursuit of good health.

There is a whole world of recipes out there, which are perfectly suited to their dietary needs, from cookies, to cakes to brownies. Before I share my brownie recipe with you, I’d like to bring to attention some of the flours that can be used on a day to day basis.

Sorghum Flour:

Jowar or Sorghum Flour

Sorghum is known as Jowar in India. It is an off white round grain, which is ground to make flour. This flour is often used to make rotis in households of India. What we didn’t know is it can be easily used in place of wheat flour or refined flour in cakes, cookies and brownies.

Arrowroot Flour:

Arrowroot flour

Whenever you need to use a flour to thicken sauces or gravies, such as white sauce for salads etc, arrowroot flour can be used. It is a white flour which becomes transparent and thickened upon cooking.

Cornflour:

Or cornstarch as it is also known, is also a good thickening agent. In case of cakes, it can be used to replace a part of sorghum flour to increase the softness of the cake.

Chickpea flour or besan:

Although not in cakes, but in India, Chickpea flour or besan is one flour which is indispensable. It is used to make a variety of recipes such as Besan chillas, tomato omelettes etc.

Other useful flours:

Maize flour or makki ka atta, rice flour, and soya flour are all good alternatives

You may find that some of the recipes for cakes contain an ingredient called guar gum, or any other kind of plant gum. While its use in the recipe is not known, it is known to cause intestinal disturbances in some people. I find that it is unnecessary to use it, and can be easily done away with.

Onwards to the recipe:

• 1 cup Sorghum flour/ Jowar flour
• ½ cup corn flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 and ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 pinch baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1/4^th cup warm water or coffee
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• pinch of salt.

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Or if you are using a pressure cooker, remove the whistle and close the lid with the rubber ring in place. Heat on high for fifteen minutes.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. With a hand mixer or a hand held balloon whisk, mix slowly while adding the oil and water mixture. Mix it till it is homogenous.

4. Now add the eggs one by one and beat for 1 minute after every addition.

5. Pour the batter in a butter paper lined baking tin and place it in the middle rack of your oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs.

6. In case of pressure cooker, place the cooker jaali inside the cooker, and place the tin on it. Close the lid and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 40 minutes on medium flame or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes with a few crumbs.

Yummy Gluten-free Brownie 

You can get in touch with Gauri and view her works by clicking on following links : 

Li'l White Oven

(https://www.facebook.com/lilwhiteoven)

Mind Brew

(http://mindbrewblog.wordpress.com)

Faradic Stimulation

It’s a kind of physiotherapy treatment in which electrical modality followed by strengthening. It is used to train muscular actions in case of weak muscles, post-operative rehabilitation to stimulate the muscles. This treatment is useful in treating Brachial plexus injury, Bell’s palsy or any kind of muscle damage after surgery.

          In this kind of treatment low frequency electric currents are used to stimulate the affected muscles. By applying the faradic type of current, there is mild prickling sensation. Faradic current causes muscle contraction similar to the normal muscle. Contraction and relaxation of muscles produce pumping action which increases blood supply to the muscles as a result of increased demand and supply of oxygen and nutrition.

Where can Faradic stimulation be useful?

• All Nerve injuries(like Radial nerve Injury of the arm or hand)
• Muscle weakness(To activate the muscle)
• Facial nerve Injury.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy or seizures or fits are a kind of neurological disorder caused mainly due to brain damage. Fits as it is generally called is due to sudden disturbance in our brain. Our brain, is like a wire mess, which send signals to various body parts for them to function. But when a kid has suffered brain damage, it occasionally causes some disturbances which results in chronic (persistent), repetitive and abnormal electrical discharges from brain cells which cause seizures or fits.

Causes of brain damage may be numerous. It can be caused by fall of mother during pregnancy or fall during delivery, or hypoxia (lack of oxygen supply to brain), or accident or brain injury in later part of life, infections, low or high level of calcium, potassium and/or sodium etc.

Fits are of various kinds. People mainly associated fits as person getting jerks and foaming from mouth. But it’s not necessary that all experience the same. Some kids while playing just go blank with eyes turned upwards, or some suddenly start making strange voices as if gurgling or snoring, some just lay still with no movement but loose body tone, etc. Each kid experiences different kind of seizure symptoms.

What precautions should one take while a child is having fit?

• Remain Calm
• Place the person on soft surface.
• Remove glasses, if worn by kid and loosen any tight clothing.
• Rest the child's head on a pillow and lay them on their side, so that if the child throws up, he/she doesn't choke.
• Don't try to restrain the child.
• Stay with kid until he/she comes to normal.

As soon as child gets 1^st epileptic attack, get the child consulted by your pediatric doctor or preferably by a pediatric neurologist who would suggest either an EEG or an MRI or a CT scan. These tests show and record the main causes of the epileptic episodes and the region from which these are generated. Once the causes are known, these episodes can be controlled by medications prescribed by neurologist.

It’s not necessary that anyone having epilepsy has to be differently abled. Sometimes a healthy child with no condition can also get epileptic attack. Such kids can lead normal life. But if the seizures are associated with different conditions in kid, prognosis (the expected duration, the function, and a description of the course of the disease, such as progressive decline, intermittent crisis, or sudden, unpredictable crisis) is usually slower compared to others.

Being a parent, with epileptic child I would like to advice, don’t panic when a child gets fits. Because getting panicky won’t help the child. It’s better to be calm and take the necessary precautions so that it doesn’t cause further harm or damage to the kid. I know it’s easier said than done. It’s difficult for any parent to see our child in that condition and be helpless. And whenever child gets an epileptic attack try to record a video to show it to your doctor for reference. It will help doctor know which kind of fit the child has got.  

Down's Syndrome

        Down’s syndrome is a genetic disorder. It is caused by presence of an additional chromosome 21. Down syndrome occurs because of an abnormality characterized by an extra copy of genetic material on all or part of the 21st chromosome. Every cell in the body contains genes that are grouped along chromosomes in the cell's nucleus or center. There are normally 46 chromosomes in each cell, 23 inherited from your mother and 23 from your father. When some or all of a person's cells have an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21, the result is Down's syndrome.

Karyotype for trisomy Down syndrome: Notice the three copies of chromosome 21

        Usually they can be easily recognized by their distinct facial features like teddy bear like appearance, wide placed, slanted eyes, flat nose, short stature etc.

        Most of chromosomal abnormality occurs in pregnancy where the maternal age is more. Kids with Down’s syndrome may suffer from congenital heart issues, hearing and speech difficulties, thyroid dysfunctions, slow physical growth leading to obesity.

Down’s syndrome can be detected through tests during 4^th or 5^th month of pregnancy or usually at time of birth. But in cases wherein the maternal age is more, doctors now-a-days usually suggest various tests in 1^st 4 months of pregnancy to rule out any kind of abnormalities.

Kids with Down’s syndrome need regular follow-ups with their pediatric doctor and cardiologist to rule out any kind of problems and also therapies to develop their cognitive skills. Kids with Down’s syndrome need special schooling and vocational training. 

Cerebral Palsy (CP)

          Cerebral palsy is neurological disorder which affects kid’s movement, speech and posture due to brain damage. Brain damage may be caused due to various reasons. Brain damage may be either congenital (during pregnancy) or antenatal (before birth) or postnatal (after birth).

·      

•    Congenital damage happens if mother had a fall during her pregnancy or she suffered from high blood pressure or diabetes.
• Antenatal: if the meconium is stained (due to lack of oxygen sometimes the child passes stool, which is called meconium) or due to any other reason when oxygen supply is cut off to brain that causes brain damage.
• Postnatal: post birth when the child suffers from high fever or infection or jaundice, causes brain damage.

These are some of the reasons which cause hypoxia which means lack of oxygen supply leads to brain damage. Depending on the area and extent of brain damage, various body functions of kid gets affected.

Various types of cerebral palsy are:

•  Spastic : movement is stiff and difficult
•  Athetoid: movement is involuntary or uncontrolled
•  Ataxia: balance and depth perception is abnormal
• Mixed: combination of above 3.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy may be obvious either at birth or it takes few months to become apparent. Symptoms may be

•  loose or tight body tone,
•  delayed milestones,
•  delayed speech
•  seizures
• Hearing difficulties.

Whether a child is suffering from cerebral palsy, can be diagnosed by consulting a pediatric neurologist who determines the extent of damage by various tests like MRI, EEG etc. Pediatric neurologist then suggests medicines to improve the body tone and control seizures. Also various kinds of therapies are also suggested to make the child achieve independency as much as possible in his/her condition. Therapies like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy help kids learn to achieve as much control over their body and speech as possible. Pediatric orthopedic can help including braces or splints which act as additional aid to support and prevent further deformities.

Cerebral palsy has no cure, it’s a lifelong condition. But with correct diagnosis, therapy and treatment a child will be able to become independent and do its daily chore by him/herself.

Brachial Plexus Injury (BPI)

The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that originate in the neck region and branch off to form most of the other nerves that control movement and sensation in the upper limbs, including the shoulder, arm, forearm, and hand. A brachial plexus injury occurs when these nerves are stretched, compressed, or in the most serious cases, ripped apart or torn away from the spinal cord.

            Usually when the child is in breech position (i.e. head is not towards opening), or mother is suffering from blood pressure or when mother is not in condition to push the baby or when child is suffering from any genetic disease and its body tone is low and not able to push, forceps or hand or vacuum suction is used to pull the child. At times when pressure applied is more than the required the brachial plexus nerves get damaged leading to injury, which affects movement of that particular side of arm. A brachial plexus injury occurring during birth is called birth related brachial plexus palsy or obstetric brachial plexus palsy.

Sometimes during delivery, the baby's shoulder may become impacted on the mother’s pubic bone causing the brachial plexus nerves to stretch or tear (shoulder dystocia). The prognosis for recovery depends on the pattern, complexity, and severity of injury.

Treatment for BPI is either therapy or surgical intervention depending on the severity of damage. Physiotherapy is always a part of recovery process for BPI. Even after surgery some amount of therapy is required to restore free and pain free movement to the effected part.

ADHD – Attention deficit hyperactive disorder

As the name itself is explanatory, kids with ADHD suffer from lack of attention, are very hyper or restless and are very impulsive which is not appropriate for a kid’s age. They are unable to control their anger, pay attention to one particular task at hand, or sit in one place for even a short duration of time. Now many people say it’s common for kids to be inattentive in class or be hyper or impulsive but when situations become very hard to control that’s when kids need to be intervened through correct diagnosis and therapy and/or medications.

Now next question which arises is what causes ADHD in kids? Reasons may vary.

Environmental factors: Intake of alcohol or smoking by pregnant mother, even exposure to tobacco smoke, high level of stress or tension during pregnancy, intake of junk food or more amount of caffeine etc. effects the foetus brain development. Kids prefer crunchy & processed food like wafers, etc. sugary foods, cocoa, coffee, aerated drinks contains high level of caffeine, which affect their moods, and also affects their attention capacity and trigger hyper-activeness. Also now-a-days kids are addicted playing games on smartphones and laptops. That can also trigger or it may be one of reasons which trigger ADHD.

Genetic factors: Many doctors say if dad had trait of hyperactive or impulsive nature it gets carried to the kid.

Other factors: Premature birth, low birth weight of the kid, or infections during pregnancy or birth or early childhood also can result in ADHD in later stages. Family dysfunction or poor educational system, high academic expectations or emotional abuse can also be some of reasons for ADHD. The youngest child in a class can develop ADHD traits as being youngest and developmentally behind than their older classmates and constant comparison can affect their moods too.

Reasons may be numerous but how to tackle this behavior in kids? The only remedy is once you realize the kid’s behavior is not normal or you feel he/she is getting more restless or is getting difficult to control, get the child diagnosed by your pediatrician. Most of the kids get late treatment mainly because most of parents have difficulty in accepting that their kid needs help. They just treat their kids behavior as normal childhood behavior until something big or untoward happens.

My 1 request to all parents, if you ever find anything different in your kid’s behavior, please speak to your pediatrician and get it ruled out. It’s not only for their betterment but also for ours.

A to Z Challenge - Theme Reveal

Come April and bloggers all over the world will get set for the month long blogging challenge, “The A to Z Challenge”.

This is my 2^nd year of the challenge. Last year I didn’t have a theme, actually I hadn’t thought I would be able to complete the challenge, but the motivation and support of some of my true friends kept me going and I successfully completed the challenge last year, though a tad  bit late.

This year, I thought why not take the challenge a step higher by setting a theme. Since my life revolves mainly with differently abled kids, why not write something about them, which will help me also to understand my kid better.

So this year my theme will be “Kids – God’s Special Gifts”, all about various conditions of kids, therapies, diet etc.

Hope I will be able to fulfill the expectations of people who are looking forward reading my blog and also of those who are expecting me to create and spread more awareness about our kids.

Wish me luck and I wish all fellow participants all the very best for the month long Blogging Challenge. See you on 1^st April with letter “A”.