Top Medical Headlines

Health

What Your Daily Stretching Routine Should Look Like

Post author By Team Arrowhead
Post date May 25, 2022
No Comments on What Your Daily Stretching Routine Should Look Like

Best Daily Stretch Routine

Stretching is beneficial in several ways. Post-workout, stretching improves blood flow and relieves inflammation around the muscles, leading to faster recovery and fewer aches. A good pre-workout warmup includes dynamic stretches that reduce the chance of muscle strain and similar injuries.

But what if you’re not working out regularly?

Regardless, daily stretching helps by keeping your muscles healthy and increasing your range of motion. With that in mind, here is what a recommended stretching routine should look like if you want to keep your body healthy.

Recommended Routine Stretch Exercises

The Basics of Stretching

Before getting into the specific stretches, it’s important to understand the basics of effective stretching. Ideally, you should engage in exercises that work the major muscle-tendon groups in your body. These include your neck, chest, hips, legs, ankles, shoulders, lower back, and trunk.

Time is also a crucial factor when stretching. Aim to spend 60 seconds on each stretch. If you can’t hold a stretch for that long, use repetitions. For example, if you can only hold the stretch for 10 seconds, repeat it six times to get the full effects.

With the basics covered, let’s move into some effective stretches for your daily routine.

Stretch No. 1 – The Runner’s Stretch

This simple stretch works your lower body, including your back, ankles, and legs. It’s also great for working your hip flexor muscles.

Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Step your left leg back while placing both hands on the floor at each side of your right foot. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and lower your hips. You should feel the stretch in your leg and left hip.

Hold this position for 30 seconds before straightening your right leg while keeping your hands on the floor. Hold this position for 30 seconds before repeating the stretch for the other side of your body.

Stretch No. 2 – Chest Opener

This simple stretch works your chest, shoulders, and trunk.

Face a corner of your room and raise your arms while bending your elbows so your elbows are at shoulder height. Press each palm into the wall and stagger your feet backward.

Lean slowly into the wall until you feel a stretch in your chest. Hold this position for up to 60 seconds. Again, repeat if you’re unable to get up to 60 seconds the first time.

Stretch No. 3 – The Slouch Overcorrect

The final stretch works your neck and also has benefits for your lower back.

Sit in a chair and allow your body to slouch. Relax in this position for a couple of seconds before drawing yourself upright. Accentuate your back’s natural curve and hold this exaggerated position for a couple more seconds.

Return to the slouch and repeat 10 times.

Proper Stretching Is Vital

Without a daily stretching routine, your muscles lose their flexibility and range of motion. This can lead to injuries, such as muscle strains, when you need to call on your muscles for something strenuous. With these three exercises, which take less than 10 minutes per day, you keep your body prepared and prevent muscle strain and similar injuries.

Daily Stretches for Flexibility

If wanting to take stretching further, Google search these additional stretches; neck roll, shoulder roll, single leg lunges, standing quad stretch, and calf stretch.

Tags Increase Range of Motion, Reduce Injuries, Stretch Routine

Uncategorized

What Tests Can A Cardiologist Do?

Post author By
Post date January 11, 2021
No Comments on What Tests Can A Cardiologist Do?

A battery of tests is inevitable for those suspected of having heart disease and heart disease patients. If your future holds one of these non-invasive heart tests, here’s what you should expect: ECGs, CT scans, and MRIs. Why do you need these tests, and what are they? When you visit your cardiologist, these are some of the test names you will hear. Keep in mind that these are just some of the services and tests a cardiologist can do.

Your doctor may order an array of cardiac tests if you’re suspected of having a heart condition, or you’ve got heart issues. If during outdoor activities for toddlers, your child gets breathless too often and fast, your doctor may order these tests. But what should you expect, and what’s their purpose? Here’s a guide to what some of the non-invasive tests your doctor orders are designed to do.

1. Echocardiogram

It produces images of your heart using sound waves. This heart functioning test shows how blood is moving through your heart and how your heart’s beating. The images from an echocardiogram identify heart muscle and valve abnormalities.

Reasons for the test:

– Identify the cause of heart murmur

– Check heart valves function

– Assess the function of the heart

2. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE):

This heart exam makes detailed pictures of your arteries that lead from and to your heart and the heart itself using ultrasound. A thin tube attached to the echo transducer that produces the TEE soundwaves is put into the mouth, down the throat, and into the esophagus that’s very close to the heart’s upper chambers.

Reasons for the Test:

– Assess heart valve function

– Monitor heart valve disease

– Check for blood clots inside the heart

3. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

When wondering what tests can a cardiologist do, an ECG or EKG comes to mind first. These cardiac tests provide two kinds of information when measuring the heartbeat’s electrical activity. First, a doctor can determine how long it takes the electrical wave to pass through your heart using the ECG to measure time intervals.

It is possible to show whether the electrical activity is irregular, fast, regular, or slow by finding out how long a wave will take to pass through one part of the heart to the next.

How to make a child successful in life will depend on their mental and physical health and the support they get from their environment. If the doctor orders this test, it’s best to get it done.

If parts of the heart are overworked or too large, a cardiologist may be able to find this out by measuring the amount of electrical activity passing through the heart muscle.

Reasons for the Test:

– Monitor heart rhythm changes

– Determine the occurrence of a heart attack

– Help in the prediction of a developing heart attack

4. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Another answer to, “what tests can a cardiologist do?” is a MRI. Detailed pictures of structures and organs inside your body are created using radiofrequency waves and magnetic fields. These can be used to identify areas affected by stroke in the brain and examine blood and heart vessels.

Reasons for the Test:

– Assess the structure of the heart

– Look within the heart muscle for scar tissue

– Assess heart valve function

5. CT Scan

This is a computer imaging technique that produces cross-sectional images of the heart through X-ray imaging. This test can be used to examine whether your blood and heart vessels have problems. It is also referred to as computerized axial tomography, CAT scan, or cardiac computed tomography. It is also used to determine whether a stroke has affected blood vessels in the brain.

Reasons for the Test:

– Assess the hearts structure

– Heart blockage testing to determine if the coronary arteries have any blockages

6. Exercise Cardiac Stress Test

The ETT (exercise tolerance test) is one of the cardiac tests that show whether you’ve got normal heart rhythm on a treadmill or stationary bike, and if you have sufficient blood supply in your heart. Echocardiography and nuclear imaging are usually done in combination with this test.

Reasons for the Test:

– Determine the causes of weakness, shortness of breath, and chest pain

– Assess the heart’s health

– Assess exercise safety

– Identify how activity changes heart rhythm

– Find out if during exercise there’s an inadequate flow of blood to the heart muscle

7. Pharmacologic Stress Test

To dilate the arteries and increase blood flow and heart rate -just like the effects of exercise- you receive medication through an IV line in your arm. This heart testing is done together with echocardiography, MRI, or nuclear imaging. If you’re worried about costs and the question on your mind is, “can I get medicare through my spouse?” you must get this cleared with one of the officials before you commit.

Reasons for the Test:

– Identify the causes of weakness, shortness of breath, and chest pain

– During exercise, find evidence in the heart muscle of inadequate blood flow

– In the coronary arteries, diagnose and monitor blockages

– Assess heart attack risks

8. Tilt test

The tilt test is another one of the tests a cardiologist can do, however, it is not commonly found. If you feel lightheaded or faint, a tilt test will determine why. You will lie on a slowly tilted table. This test measures the response of your heart rate and blood pressure to gravity. During the test, a technician or a nurse will track the changes in your heart rate (pulse) or your blood pressure.

Reasons for the Test:

– Assess fainting spells and dizziness

– Identify changes in heart rhythm

9. Ambulatory Rhythm Monitoring Tests

To study heart rhythm on an outpatient basis for a prolonged time, ambulatory monitoring tests such as Holter monitoring, mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT), and event recorders.

Reasons for the tests:

– Identify problems that aren’t apparent on a normal ECG and evidence of heart rhythm issues that come and go.

10. Coronary Angiogram

Coronary arteries that supply blood to your heart are examined through the use of an X-Ray. Your heart and coronary arteries are fed with a catheter introduced to your groin or arm through a blood vessel. Images are then taken after a special dye is injected into the catheter.

Reasons for this type of cardiac test:

– Evaluate the inner pressure of the heart

– Identify coronary artery blockages or narrowing

Uncategorized

When Should I do a Pregnancy Test?

Post author By
Post date January 11, 2021
No Comments on When Should I do a Pregnancy Test?

Do you believe that you could be pregnant? There's always a chance of pregnancy even if you use the best birth control methods. This is because pregnancy comes from one sperm and one egg. Determining whether or not you're pregnant can quickly happen by just taking a pregnancy test.

Once you’ve taken your test, you may also like to look at outdoor activities for toddlers, and how to make your child successful in life.

Early pregnancy tests and regular pregnancy tests check if there is a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin in your body. If it's in your body, then you're pregnant. When the egg links itself to the uterus, the hormone is released.

Depending on the pregnancy test, it may require a urine sample from you. Here are several methods to share your urine for the test:

● Pee into a cup and put a testing stick inside of the cup

● Pee into a cup and utilize an eyedropper to help separate a small portion of the fluid into a different container

● Have a urine stick placed where you will urinate so that it catches a sample midstream

If you take a pregnancy test after experiencing a missed period, it has 99 percent effectiveness. These pregnancy tests are convenient because you can take them at home. Just open the package and follow the instructions given. Then wait the amount of time before you can view your results.

Once the results are ready, it should appear in one of the following ways:

● A line

● Change in color

● Words like "not pregnant" or "pregnant."

● Symbols like minus or plus

When Can I Take Pregnancy Test?

So the important question is, when is the earliest you can take a pregnancy test? Knowing when to test pregnancy is important because testing too early can cause inaccurate results. Ideally, you should wait until at least after you missed your period before attempting any early pregnancy tests. Another time frame you may use before taking early pregnancy tests is waiting until at least about one or two weeks after your last sexual intercourse. It typically takes some time before your body can produce any trace of HCG. So how soon can you tell if you're pregnant, or how early can you detect pregnancy? Once the egg is successfully implanted, it takes about 7 to 12 days to see any type of accurate readings. Too early testing will cause inaccurate results. Also keep in mind that pregnancy symptoms may vary when you start to notice them. Now let's go over signs that you should take a pregnancy test.

1. You Notice You Missed Your Period

One of the most significant signs of potential pregnancy is a missed period. You must monitor your cycle closely to ensure you aren't missing your period. Women typically have about a menstrual cycle that lasts 28 days, so consider taking a pregnancy test if it's been over a month since the last time you've had your period.

Remember that certain health conditions, such as exercise, diet, and stress, can cause you to skip or delay your period.

Also, look out for signs such as spotting or light bleeding. This happens when the egg begins to implant itself deeper. Notice if there are any differences in the amount of blood, texture, or color. If you do test positive for pregnancy, you should contact your doctor right away.

2. You're Experiencing Cramps

The egg implantation process can almost mimic the feeling of normal menstrual cramps. You may feel as if your period is coming soon. However, it never arrives. If this happens, you'll want to take a pregnancy test. Each woman is different and will vary in hormone levels.

3. Your Breasts are Hurting

Pregnancy causes an influx in progesterone and estrogen production to help support the growth of the baby. Due to an increased blood flow in your breasts, they may feel bigger and more tender. The veins around it may look dark, and the nipples may even hurt a little. However, this doesn't guarantee a pregnancy. Some women experience some breast tenderness or discomfort before their period.

4. You Don't Feel Well

Sometimes early pregnancy may cause you to feel sick. Additional symptoms may include:

● Exhaustion

● Nausea

● Frequent urination

● Food urinations

These symptoms may happen more frequently or get stronger since your HCG levels are leveling out, especially in the first-trimester stage. If you experience any unusual sensations or sickness, you may want to take a pregnancy test.

5. If Your Contraception Method Didn't Work

Contraceptives methods, such as condoms and birth control pills, aren't 100% effective. No matter how careful you practice safe sex, there could always be a chance of pregnancy. If the contraception failed, consider taking a test.

Any defects or errors may cause an unplanned pregnancy to occur. About every 9 out of 10 women may get pregnant if they do not follow the birth control method as instructed.

In addition, condoms can be worn wrong or break accidentally. It’s estimated that 18 out of 100 women who use condoms as a contraceptive method have gotten pregnant.

You can always contact your doctor for alternative contraception methods, such as using an IUD. Women who use an IUD have less than a one percent chance of getting pregnant.

Always Get Tested When In Doubt

Even if you use protection often, sexually active women have a chance for pregnancy. Always notice any signs that could indicate pregnancy.

Accurate readings usually show if you take the test after missing a period. Hold your urine for several hours or do the test on your first bathroom visit to get better results. This increases the concentration of the HCG in a woman's body.

Testing early will allow you to get prenatal care and receive proper care. If you do test positive, please contact your doctor immediately for the next steps or options available. If you’re curious about raising a child, one thing you can check is what age should a child go to the dentist.

Child Pediatrics Parenting Tips

How to Make Your Child Successful in Life

Post author By Team Arrowhead
Post date August 6, 2020
No Comments on How to Make Your Child Successful in Life

We all want our children to grow up and become great. We want to nurture them and prepare them for a life that is happy, purpose-driven, and productive. This is very important to me as a father.

There are a lot of people such as myself that do not easily keep up with rules and guidelines that we have set for our children even though you have been set on how to make your child successful in life. We can get distracted and forget to make sure that the children keep our rules even though we still want the best for them. This is what life can be like.

I work really hard to make the ends meet for my family. I am a business owner and I put in half of every day into working to provide for my family. Is it even remotely possible for me to manage my business and still excel at parenting?

I think it is very possible. You have probably been trying to crack the code on parenting. Don’t sweat it, it is not rocket science. The good news is that I have done the heavy lifting and I have put together a list of the most effective ways to raise a child to be successful not just as an individual but also in their career paths. The secret I am about to let you in on works for children at any age and is all you need to know on how to make your child successful.

Become A Happier And Less Stressed Person Yourself

You are probably wondering what this has to do with anything. Well, consider that there is research that proves that happier and less stressed people excel at running businesses more than unhappy and stressed people. Research in psychology goes further to expose that happy parents have a higher tendency of having happy and successful children.

The researchers opined that the children do not fare well when the parents are not taking care of themselves and nurturing their own relationships. So it is important for parents who are raising children to not just put their children first but they should also look after themselves and foster a healthy relationship.

Another interesting research by a sociologist of a prominent university further goes on to say that mothers’ stress, especially when the mother is stressed because of juggling with work and trying to find time with kids, may actually be affecting the kids badly. Try to put together some outdoor activities for you and the kids to have more bonding tme.

Just like the common cold and flu, emotions are very contagious. When you spend time with a person that is always in a bad mood chances are that you will find yourself in a bad mood yourself for no reason. This is what happens with the children. When you are stressed and depressed, it will pass over to your children. This is something you must handle if you are still concerned about the issue of how to make your child successful.

How to Make Your Child Successful in Life: Less Stress

Make Them Do House Chores

It is important to assign house chores to your children. It teaches them responsibility and the value of hard work. It could be anything at all. You could ask them to vacuum the rugs, take out the trash, clean up their rooms, wash the dishes, iron, and fold the laundry. There is always something that you can ask them to do. As a child I had to do my own fair share of chores, of course, I detested having to do anything at all but I had parents who would not give in to that.

Your own children may just as well not want to do a lot of chores, but it is important that you make sure that they do the chores as this helps kids succeed. I personally learned the importance of hard work and responsibility from doing chores. I also learned that I could get more done by working together with my siblings.

The importance of making children do chores cannot be understated. They learn lifelong values that cannot be traded for anything else. Not making your children do the dishes means someone else is absolving them of the responsibility and the important learning process that comes with it.

Make Your Kids Read Daily And Learn Math At An Early Age

This particular one seems obvious but it is important to make your children read. It is essential if you want to raise successful children. The impact of making them read has both long term and short term effects. Thomas Curley after studying the behaviors and habits of a lot of millionaires discovered that more than fifty percent of the millionaires were made to read by their parents when they were children.

The range of books that you can make your children read can include biographies, history books, literary classics, leisure books, and nonfiction. You should go ahead and give test questions about what they read. Some other reading tips you can take in, is start simple with the books when they are younger and gradually go up in difficulty. You will be doing your children a disservice by not making them read.

Another very important skill that you must equip your children with except reading should be math skills. You should start when they are still young as this is how to raise successful children. Helping kids understand math at an early age can help with teaching kids about money in the future.

Greg Duncan, a Northwestern University researcher says that the most important factor needed in predicting the later academic achievement is that children begin school with control of basic math and literary concepts.

He goes further to opine that the mastery of early math skills predicts not just the future math achievement, it also predicts future reading achievement just as accurately as early literacy mastery of vocabulary, alphabets, and phonetics predicts later achievements.

How to Make Your Child Successful in Life: Read Daily

Praise Them Correctly

I have learned a lot and been impacted by the writings and the works of Carol Dweck. I benefited the most as an entrepreneur. You too can have a look at her work about Mindset. Carol Dweck is a professor of psychology at Stanford University. She has a lot to say. Carol says that a

fixed mindset believes that talent and skill are innate and cannot be altered.

This mindset believes that you are only as good at something as you are created or born to be. A growing mindset, on the other hand, believes that talents can be honed in time and skills can be adopted with hard work and extra effort.

This thought has a lot to do with how to praise your children. You can praise your child for their effort and hard work instead of telling them that they are skilled or talented. When your children excel in say for example, in a sporting event like a soccer or basketball game or they ace their math test then you can praise the hard work that they did rather than say that they are talented or smart.

We always have good intentions and simply want to compliment our children, but we can instill a fixed mindset in them by praising them for qualities that they possess. The problem with this is that when they venture into a thing and do not succeed, they become less confident. When you praise the efforts of the children you give them a growth mindset and what more could we want other than for our children to be confident in the intelligence and their ability to solve problems.

Create Family Rituals

Children have better chances of excelling in adulthood if they have strong social skills according to research. Through family rituals, we can promote these social skills easily. It is the best way and also the easiest. “Family rituals are as easy as cooking food together, camping together as a family, having yearly vacations and trips and perhaps an evening stroll”, says Dr. Dawn Eaker and Dr. Lynda Walters. This will not only help with your own mental health but with the health of your kids.

Family meetings can also be an avenue for the family to talk about the things that you did or did not do in the last week, last month, or even year. It will help children learn a lot of social skills.

Tags finance, kids, parenting

Child Pediatrics Parenting Tips

Outdoor Activities for Toddlers

Post author By Team Arrowhead
Post date July 28, 2020
No Comments on Outdoor Activities for Toddlers

Without having to shell out much money, these easy and fun outdoor activities for toddlers will keep your kids completely entertained.

Do you have a cranky toddler or bored preschooler on your hands? Get them outside! The beautiful sunlight and a bit of a breeze can make your little one smile again. Check out the following things to do outside with toddlers! They’re perfectly doable right in your backyard or neighborhood, so there is no need to travel far to have fun with your toddlers outdoors. Perfect for any occasion including; birthday parties, family reunion’s, and holiday’s!

Caterpillar Hopscotch

It’s probable that your little one’s already met and adored Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Well, with only a little sidewalk chalk, you can make this munching insect the star of this driveway or sidewalk game, and enjoy one of the most popular outdoor games for toddlers. First, draw a large chalk circle, two or three feet across, with a cute face and antennae. Then, add from 10-20 more circles to create a jumbo-size caterpillar. Use a stopwatch to make the game more exciting, and challenge your toddler to run from one end of the caterpillar to the other. If your kid is a preschooler, you can tell them not to step on any chalk lines to make the game more challenging or encourage them to try bunny hopping or leaping from one circle to another. To add some learning to this game, you can use different colors, as you encourage your kid to jump from green to purple to red. This helps with engaging their cognitive functions by getting them moving around with some fun activities.

Wash & Dry

It’s well-known that water always adds fun to outdoor games, so when you think about toddlers' outdoor activities, it can’t miss the list. Try this out during a warm day to have a blast. Fill a bucket with water and add a few drops of tear-free baby shampoo. Get some clean sponges and let your toddlers or preschoolers clean up everything they use to roll: bikes, tricycles, scooters, and ride-ons. After soaping the vehicles up, help your kids use the hose to rinse them down, and then use some old rags or towels to dry the rides. Finally, enjoy taking your toddlers outdoors on their rides and start a parade around the block as the cherry on the cake.

Grow a Mini-Garden

A wonderful way to stimulate your kid’s curiosity about the world is by introducing them to the marvelous nature, which can easily be done by creating a kid-friendly garden. Perfect for the babies who just started walking! Besides, your toddler or preschooler will get a great sense of accomplishment by growing a plant. Starting is really easy: you just have to transplant already-thriving seedlings into pots filled with soil. Afterward, you can plant the veggies in the ground or keep them in these containers, whatever you prefer. Some kid-friendly and reliable options are green beans, basil, and tomatoes, but you can also check what’s growing at your local nursery, which is actually one of the other things to do outside with toddlers!

Hit the Streets

Sick of being at home all day? Try getting toddlers outdoors to live some adventures. This activity will give your tot a chance to choose the route. Get some index cards with arrows on them pointing right, left, forward and backward, and get going. Let your kid pick a card to decide which way you head next every time you reach a fork in the road. You can play a guessing game along the way to predict what you’ll see (or won’t see) on the next block: a blue mailbox, a black door, a tree, etc.

Play Sneaky Bear

The Sneaky Bear game is another option for fun things to do with toddlers outside. First, tell your little one to choose three items before “going to sleep” under a blanket. Then, you or another kid (“the sneaky bear”) steal one item and hide it. Once you’re done hiding it, yell “Wake up!” so the sleepyhead can start trying to realize which item is missing. If there are more than two players in the game, they can also guess who stole it. To let everyone be the sneaky bear, take turns. To make the game more challenging, you can add a search for the missing item.

Make Monster Bubbles

Is there any child who isn’t crazy about bubbles? Bubbles are a must in a list of the fun things to do with toddlers outside. You don’t even need to buy a solution, as you can make your own at home. First, get a gallon of warm water and add one cup of dishwashing soap. The secret to getting jumbo-size bubbles is glycerin. Get it at your local pharmacy and add two or three tablespoons to the mix. Then, get a flat, rimmed tray and pour your mix into it. Make a wand bending a wire hanger into a loop. Teach your tot how to slowly get the wand inside the tray and lift it as you walk backward to create a huge bubble. You can try using different items to make the wands, such as pipe cleaners or fly swatters. If you want to make monster-sized bubbles, pour your solution into a wading pool and use a Hula-Hoop to make them.

Obstacle Course Race

An essential part of every toddler and preschooler development is mastering their gross-motor skills, so throwing, kicking, running, and jumping are very important. This backyard activity is an excellent way to get toddlers outdoors and make them work out while they enjoy the benefits of playing outdoors. For instance, a good set of challenges for preschoolers could be this one: kick a ball towards a wall, then jump on and off a step, hop one-footed along a path in the garden, and finally throw a tennis ball into a bucket. On the other hand, the younger set can practice an easy activity at a time, like stepping in and out of a Hula-Hoop on the ground, before trying something more challenging. If more than one kid is around, you can encourage them to start a race that will get their hearts pumping while practicing one of the most dynamic outdoor activities for toddlers.

Tags kids

Child Pediatrics

At What Age do Babies Start Walking?

Post author By Team Arrowhead
Post date July 4, 2020
No Comments on At What Age do Babies Start Walking?

So you may be wondering when can babies start walking? If your baby is on the verge of becoming a toddler, you may begin to wonder about their walking stage. For those that wonder when will babies walk, then you’re in the right place. We’ll go over the average age that babies will begin walking, how to help them walk on their own, and signs that signify they will be able to walk soon.

Seeing your baby finally gets up and can be extremely exciting for you. It’s one of the most thrilling milestones of a baby’s development, and you may be eagerly pondering when are babies supposed to walk? It can feel like a miracle when they finally take their first steps. Sometimes we may even try to over complicate the process of walking. As babies, they need to gain strength in their leg muscles to carry their body weight to walk. Also, walking requires proper balance in their core, hips, and ankles. Some babies will be able to pick this up quickly and walk, while others may take longer to develop.

So what’s the earliest a baby can walk? Babies can usually walk as early as about six months old, but it will typically take roughly nine to 18 months before most babies will walk. We will begin to go over more details about when babies start walking, the signs a baby will walk shortly, and how to encourage babies to begin walking.

What age should a baby start walking

Age can vary a lot, and typically, a baby will walk around the one to two-year mark. The walking milestone won’t happen instantly. Usually, this takes time. A baby will need to progress through many milestones before taking their first steps in the world. The process begins when you begin practicing tummy time, which allows them to better control their neck and head. Tummy time will teach your baby how to roll up and sit up for themselves. Knowing what age should a baby start walking is crucial for your understanding of their developmental stage. For instance, a baby will begin crawling around seven months and then pull their little bodies up around nine months to 12 months. From there, they begin cruising.

Cruising is a big sign that a baby will begin walking very soon. This is when a baby will begin to test the waters by standing upright. They may take a few steps cautiously to make sure everything is okay. You may hold something for support, such as a coffee table or couch. Make sure your furniture is baby proof so that nothing is dangerous when they do begin to walk. From there, your baby will quickly begin walking on their own. It may take every baby a different timeline. Some may take a few weeks to master this newfound skill, but others may pick it up immediately. You may find that some babies may never even begin crawling while many others will crawl for a bit and then cruise. And others may crawl for months before having the courage to cruise.

Once a baby begins to cruise, then you should quickly notice if they begin to walk. Personality can play a significant role. Babies with a little more courage might step up to the challenge and start doing it much sooner.

How to Encourage Your Baby to Walk

Luckily you don’t need much special equipment to help your baby build key skill sets to help your baby walk. You just need to help them with their tummy time. From there, you just build on top of that skill with another one. Babies usually start with tummy time to help them go from rolling to sitting. From there, they can begin crawling and pull-up to a standing position. We will list out a few strategies to help your baby walk:

Carry Them Less – Cuddling and carrying your baby can be super cute, but if you do it too often, you are only delaying their time needed to learn walking. Babies won’t need to move if you constantly carry them. First, you will need to let them explore and give them the time necessary to develop the skills on their own. From there, they will be more interested in learning that new milestone to walk.

Don’t use a baby walker – Using a baby walker may be convenient but will slow the overall progression of teaching a baby to walk. Walkers will keep your child seated, so their hips are flexed, and their lower legs will move the walker. However, this isn’t a natural position to walk and won’t progress them forward. Walkers are also very dangerous, especially on stairs, so many pediatricians advise against baby walkers.

Use the activity saucer and playpen less – The problem with having your baby in a playpen or activity saucer is that they are not the best with developing your babies movement skills. Typically this causes your baby to be confined in one area and not have the space to move, crawl, stretch, stand up or roll. This can lead to babies getting walkers in an attempt to get them to walk. It’s best to have babies in an open floor space without the sharp corners and anything that may cause falling.

Use a push toy – Push toys can be an excellent tool to help your baby walk forward. This is useful when your baby is finally standing upright and cruising around the furniture. Some push toys may have wheels that move slowly, which helps your child to learn how to walk. You may not need an exact push toy. It can be as simple as having your baby just push a diaper box in the house. This is a much cheaper option than a plush toy.

Have babies go barefoot – It’s best to have babies learn to walk in barefoot before shoes. Although shoes look super cute on babies, they aren’t ideal for teaching them how to walk. Letting babies use their barefoot allows them to balance using their toes. You may even see toe walking in children. Ideally, once they can walk, you should get shoes that have light soles and are very flexible. This helps to enable their bones and muscles to develop and avoids potential tripping.

When do babies usually start walking on their own?

Here’s a better way of understanding how your baby should start walking. When a baby finally begins walking, it may take several weeks to get comfortable with it before their striding along. From there, they can begin usually running about six months later.

Then you may be thinking about when can babies move along stairs? Walking upstairs can be much more challenging, especially for babies who just learned how to walk. Once your baby can walk steadily and consistently, then you may introduce the stairs. First, you should do so by holding on to the rail and your hand. Make sure to give them lots of practice. By the age of two years old, they should be able to walk up and downstairs.

Delayed Walkers

Some parents begin worrying if their babies can’t walk by their first birthday. And a greater concern happens if they can’t walk by the 18-month mark. However, some babies are late walkers. This usually happens due to their baby personality. It’s more worrisome to see a baby have regression than any delayed progression. If the baby isn’t making attempts to move forward or regress in walking behavior, this can be a big red flag. For instance, if a baby isn’t even trying to crawl or pull-up is a potential red flag that should be addressed. But a baby is pulling up and trying to cruise, but can’t walk. Then it’s only a matter of time before the baby does begin to walk. Both babies may have a lack of motor skills, but the latter will catch on shortly.

If you notice any long delays in walking, then you should contact your pediatrician or healthcare provider. Of course you should know what age should a baby start walking first before doing so. Do note that some babies may just be late bloomers and will take a bit longer. We sometimes are so stuck on when do babies walk on average that we forget it can vary. As long as your baby starts to trend in a positive trajectory, they will likely hit their stride sooner or later. You will look back on the times you asked yourself, when will baby walk, as a fond time. Sooner or later, you’ll begin chasing them around all-time once they get the hang of it.

Health Insurance

How Long Can You Stay on Long Term Disability – Long Term Disability Examples

Post author By Team Arrowhead
Post date February 20, 2020
No Comments on How Long Can You Stay on Long Term Disability – Long Term Disability Examples

As you all know, opting for health insurance is a great way to tackle unexpected problems. There are many types of insurance policies available to help you in the bad times and one of the most popular among them is long term disability. So today we will be going over how long can you stay on long term disability.

How Long Can You Stay on Long Term Disability

When it comes to disability insurance for physicians, or any occupation, it’s important to have the right type of coverage for your needs. Whether you have any occupation, own occupation, or any other type of insurance plan, you’re going to want to know the coverage you have and how long it can be used.

Long Term Disability Insurance

The main thing that long term disability insurance does is that it balances your finances after you experience an accident or disability. It makes sure that you get your income even if you become unable to work. So the right answer to the question how long you can stay on long term disability is that it depends on your policy. The benefits of long term disability insurance depend on your selected policy. This insurance doesn’t provide all the money at once instead it gives monthly benefits. To help you understand better, here is a brief explanation of how this insurance works.

To make the long term disability claim better in the future, it is very important to opt for the right options while filling the long term disability form. You must know about the available features and riders properly. You can speak with a disability insurance expert to ensure you’re receiving the right coverage for you. After that, you should decide the benefits period and the elimination length.

How to Choose the Right Elimination Period?

Choosing the right elimination period is very important because you won’t be able to get any benefits until you have passed your elimination period. To claim your insurance, you must be in the disabled state after the completion of your elimination period. So what’s the correct length? Well if you can manage your finances after your accident or disability, then you can choose longer periods like 3 months. On the other hand, if you are financially unstable, then a short elimination period is good for you.

If you choose the short elimination period, then you will start getting benefits early but the premiums for a shorter period are high. If you choose a longer elimination period, then you will have to pay fewer premiums. Apart from this, if you have been dealing with medical problems and have an adverse medical history, then you won’t be able to get the benefit period for more than 5 years. That’s why you should choose the benefit period carefully.

Bottom Line

Having coverage is important. From health insurance, to disability insurance, you need to be covered if anything happens. If you are unclear about how long can you stay on long term disability, then in simple words, it depends on the insurance policy you have. There are many types of policies in which you will get benefits for months, years, or even after retirement. That’s why it is recommended to read all the insurance documents carefully.

Tags disability insurance, disability insurance for physicans, Insurance, Insurance for Doctors, Insurance for Physicians

Child Pediatrics

What Age Should a Child Go to The Dentist for The First Time? – What to Know

Post author By Team Arrowhead
Post date February 14, 2020
No Comments on What Age Should a Child Go to The Dentist for The First Time? – What to Know

Most families take their children to dentists when they are over 2 years old. This is far later than what is actually recommended by both the medical and dental professionals. So, are you wondering about what age should a child go to the dentist for the first time? Then you are at the right place. There are many benefits of visiting a dentist at an early age.

What Age Should a Child Go to The Dentist for The First Time?

We are here to tell you everything that you should know about the age of the child when he/she should go to a dentist. We will also discuss the importance of getting the primary teeth checked by a dentist. Read on to know more about this.

Importance of Getting Your Primary Teeth Checked

Just as there are many benefits to following healthy tips for your kids, there are also a lot of benefits of taking your children to the dentist as soon as possible — especially if you’re raising your child as a single mother. It helps in many ways such as:

Helping your children to chew properly and maintain good nutrition
Helping in saving space for the permanent teeth
For improving the speech development
For promoting a healthy smile that can help the children to feel good

Many people do not understand how important the baby teeth of their children are for lifelong oral health.

When to Visit the Dentist?

You have to make sure that you are taking your child to a pediatric dentist as soon as possible. Whenever their first tooth erupts, you need to take the baby to a good dentist. Waiting for the child to be 2 years can be too late. There are some reasons why you must visit the dentist so early. These are:

Give your child a preview: You need to take care of the child as much as possible. Whenever they get their first teeth, you need to make sure that you are taking your child to a dentist to get it cleaned and examined properly.
Pre-examination: When the tooth erupts, a dentist can check the health of the teeth in the beginning. It will make you sure that the teeth are growing in the right way and in a healthy way.

So, these are some of the reasons why you need to make sure that you must take your child to the dentist as soon as the first tooth erupts. There is no point of waiting for the child to be 2 years or more. The primary teeth are important and you need to get it checked immediately.

Conclusion

If you were wondering about what age should a child go to the dentist for the first time, then you have probably got the answer for it. You need to make sure that you are taking an appointment with your family dentist or a reliable one. A dentist can do a thorough checkup and make sure that the primary teeth are healthy and are ready to grow better and healthier. This is also better for the future permanent teeth that will grow out later when the kid grows. All of these are reasons why health insurance is necessary since your little one will need dental care for the rest of their lives.

Tags dentist, dentistry, pediatric dentistry

Health Medicare

What are the 4 Types of Medicare – Medicare Coverage

Post author By Team Arrowhead
Post date February 5, 2020
No Comments on What are the 4 Types of Medicare – Medicare Coverage

What are 4 types of Medicare? This is a question you may come across when you have to decide what you want covered. In actual sense, they are not types but rather parts of Medicare. Each of them covers a specific area but they are somehow tied to the original Medicare.

What are the 4 Types of Medicare

Health insurance is necessary because it helps relieve the stress when unexpected medical costs occur. When you find yourself in the dark about the Medicare types, this post has the help you need. It will detail the various parts of Medicare and what is covered in each. It will also explore the Original Medicare and tell you when you need it.

Parts of Medicare

Medicare is subdivided into 4 parts as follows;

Part A: It is dedicated to cover inpatient costs or what is called hospital expenses in some quarters. You sign up for Part A when you enroll for Medicare.
Part B: In general, Part B covers medically necessary services, as well as preventive services.
What are the 4 Types of Medicare
Part C: This is an option you can add to Parts A and B to enjoy your Medicare benefits and have additional coverage..
Part D: is for prescription drugs, not Part F which is a separate plan to cover cost sharing with patients.

As you can see, each part/type of Medicare covers a specific area in the health circles. Generally, Part A and B are the most popular types partly because they offer a comprehensive cover for both inpatient and outpatient services. Again, it is because both can be accessed collectively through the original Medicare. Another thing that makes the original Medicare quite popular is the fact that it is under the custodian of the federal government. With it, you can walk into any hospital in the country, receive treatment, and the federal government pays for that service directly.

The Components of the Original Medicare

You can quality for Medicare Part A and B once you are 65, and reach other requirements. In some quarters, original Medicare is referred to as the fee-for-service Medicare. Actually, this is the actual description of how it works. Here are some of the features of the original Medicare as drafted in the act;

You do not require permission or authorization beforehand to go to hospital or see a doctor. You can see a doctor any time and any day without any problem at all and have your expenses covered by Medicare.
You will be paying premiums for part B each month. Some cases also have to pay premiums for Part A. Confirm if you fall into that category before you run into any inconvenience.
For each service you get, you are typically supposed to pay a copay for it.
Hospitals and doctors have a capping to how much they should charge you.

With original Medicare, as you may have already noticed, you are not getting any cover for prescription drugs. You will have to get a separate cover for such from your pocket. Just you know; there are several government-initiated programs that can help you cut down the costs of prescription drugs.

Bottom Line

You should now know the answer to what are the 4 types of Medicare? With this, you can make a decision on what suits your needs. Typically, part A and B come as a package in the traditional Medicare. However, you should make private arrangements for prescribed drugs.

Tags medicare, medicare coverage, medicare part A, Medicare Part B, Medicare Part C, Medicare Part D, supplement insurance

Parenting Tips Preschool

What Are Cognitive Activities for Preschoolers? – Try These

Post author By Team Arrowhead
Post date January 27, 2020
No Comments on What Are Cognitive Activities for Preschoolers? – Try These

Why should preschoolers engage in cognitive activities? What are cognitive activities for preschoolers? Young children learn a lot of things while playing. You might be thinking that they are just playing. But in reality, their mind is working hard to gather knowledge. Playing promotes cognitive development. While playing, their mind works very fast. It helps them in developing problem-solving skills, imagination, experimenting, communicating, and many other things.

What Are Cognitive Activities for Preschoolers?

As they will learn while playing, you do not need to put any extra effort. You just need to create a playing environment so that they will be motivated to play and learn all the time. Here are some playing-related cognitive activities that you can consider for the mental growth of your preschooler.

Play Ideas for Cognitive Development

It is worth mentioning that healthy communication with your kid is important to ensure a better result and so your child can really enjoy the long term benefits of preschool. You will have to make sure that you are spending time with your kid to answer the young curious mind. Your active participation is a must in all the following activities.

You can try board games such as “Snakes and Ladders” or any card game like “Snap” or “Go Fish”. These games will engage the young mind, sharpen their minds, and boost their imagination.
Read kid-friendly books and help them to understand riddles and jokes. Learn some reading tips for your preschoolers to enhance the experience.
Inspire them to show interest in construction and building games.
Consider easy jigsaw puzzles.
Find games that promote both singing and moving.
While driving, create a playful and learning environment by showing different things like grass, trees, or anything visible at the roadside.
Motivate your kids to help you with cooking. By doing so, they can learn counting, naming, measuring, and many other things.

Kids can learn very fast at this age. If you want your kid to learn first, then you will have to create a favorable environment. Also, do not always offer help. Let your kid find a solution. It will build confidence and they will know how to handle a specific situation without your help. Whenever your child will not be able to do something, he/she will cry for help. You will have to wait until that period.

Also, you need to be more communicative to develop their language skills. While you play, you can ask your child to explain what is going on. Be attentive and show interest so that your kid will be inspired to impress you with his/her discovery.

You should always limit the screen time regardless of age. Some programs might be helpful for cognitive development. But if you allow spending more time with the screen, it might affect adversely. So, limit the screen time and always focus on quality media choices. Make sure that your kid is playing more and watching her/his favorite programs less.

The Conclusion

So, what are cognitive activities for preschoolers? These are preschool readiness activities that stimulate the minds of young children so that your preschooler has healthy mental growth. You should try from an early age around four. This is the right time to make friends, to organize things, and understand concepts. Communicate with your kid always and inspire your little one to explore different things whenever possible. In the case where you need extra help, do not hesitate to reach out to a preschool near you to contact them for more information.

Tags child, kids, parenting, parenting tips, preschool