Health and Medical Journal

By Michelle Ho

Infectious diseases in children are a big concerns for parents. Usually children will not get infectious diseases at home for there are protected. As your child don’t come in contact with many people at home and parents or I should say adults are generally immune to many childhood illness so adults cannot and don’t have the opportunity to transmit those infections to your children. So where do children get the infectious diseases from if it is not possible to get the infectious disease at home.

Where do children get infectious diseases from? Well the infectious diseases are spread places like in the Day Cares, Child Cares, Kindergartens, enclosed Playgrounds or other facilities when there are a large amount of children gather together for period of time come in close contact. Children most likely will put their hands in their mouth after playing. Children fall sick easily compare to the adults. Children immune systems have not fully developed at their age. There is no way to prevent the spread of all infectious and illnesses within these places. However some of these infectious diseases can be prevented.

Children Practice Good Hygiene The best way to prevent these infectious diseases for transmission is to educate your child to wash their hands well. Always remember that infections can be spread by any person, child or adult, who show no signs of that illness. They may or may not be sick but they might just be a carrier of the diseases. Habits of washing your hands is the most effective way because it dilutes and flushes off germs and other contaminated matter. Sadly enough that most children are not conscious of their personal hygiene as majority of children are not taught of practicing good hygiene at home. Parents have to teach your child at the young age to practice good hygiene at home first and help them maintain the habit although it is not easy to teach proper hand washing hygiene.

So how to stop infectious diseases in children? How to make an impact to children Practicing Good Hygiene? As parents you have to be a role model. Children will naturally imitate your behaviors, the way you present yourself, the way you speaks, everything in you include your bad behaviors. So if you practice good hygiene habits, they will follow closely. If you wash your hands before and after eating and whenever you have to wash your hands. Make it as routine, help and encourage your child practice good hygiene a habits. So start now and set a good example for your children in practicing good hygiene. Read the rest of this entry »

By Robert Herriman

The German physician Robert Koch (1843-1910) contributed so much to the field of microbiology and infectious diseases. A contemporary of Louis Pasteur, Koch worked as a physician most of his life.

Some of the great contributions to the field of microbiology and infectious diseases include identifying the bacterium that causes anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) in 1877. He recognized both the actively dividing cells and the dormant cells (spores) and developed techniques for studying them outside the body.

Another great contribution, which microbiologists today can be thankful for, is developing a way to grow bacteria in pure culture. After trying different media (potato slices, gelatin, etc) he used a cooking thickener (agar) which created a firm surface so the bacteria could be spread very thinly over the surface.

The micro organism is spread so thinly that individual organisms are separated from each other. Then after time, each individual organism would multiply to form a visible colony from its millions of descendents. Read the rest of this entry »

By Christine Crotts

In today’s world we are constantly faced with information about infectious diseases, infection control and disease prevention. We are all aware of the methods that we should apply to prevent the spread of infectious disease, such as washing of hands with antibacterial soap, using hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray and wipes as well as mouth covers. We are all aware of how to prevent infectious diseases, but we may not all be aware of what it is that we are avoiding. Lets look at the four of the most common infectious diseases in North America.

Chicken Pox (Varicella Zoster Virus)

Chicken Pox is generally considered being a children’s illness, but the truth is that Chicken pox is that in recent years, chicken pox has become more prevalent in adults and teenagers. This disease can be transmitted via direct contact with an infected person. Infection can be prevented by avoiding contact with an infected individual during the virulent stag of infection. Common infectious disease prevention techniques are extremely effective in the prevention of Chicken Pox, and a vaccine is available which can help to prevent infection.

Strep Throat (Streptococcal Pharyngitis) Read the rest of this entry »