When your baby is born you have many different feelings. Joy, happiness and love are just a few examples of how you may feel. However, when your baby is born early or with a complicating medical condition, those feelings may also include grief, disappointment, anger and fear. In many cases being born early also means spending time in a hospital, specifically a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This experience is much different than being home with your family.

Once infants are hospitalized, they experience several different types of touch. The first touch the infant may receive is negative touch – anything that is painful, invasive or uncomfortable. Most of this negative touch comes in the form of procedures that are necessary for the infant’s health and survival, and are performed by someone other than the parents. The other main type of touch the baby receives is positive touch. Sometimes there is a lack of positive touch – due to the parent’s fear or the healthcare team’s busy schedules. This can also be affected by the baby’s developmental level.

Generally, when positive touch is provided, it is done so by the parents and this type of touch is anything that is considered loving, nurturing, soothing or comforting.

It becomes imperative that nurturing touch is introduced to help balance an infant’s experience of negative touch. By balancing the negative touch interventions with positive touch, the baby is less likely to suffer long-term problems, such as tactile defensiveness or touch aversion. Both of these are conditions that arise when there is an overabundance of negative touch without the balance of positive touch.

When a child is affected by a touch aversion, they might not like to be touched. Sometimes this is all over, other times it is in specific areas. Specific areas often include the infant’s heels or around the mouth. This is caused because of negative experiences in these area (an infant receiving numerous heel sticks or being ventilated). This can create a problem with lifelong consequences for the baby and their family.

This is why it is invaluable to introduce nurturing touch in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as soon as it can be done so safely. Kangaroo Care, or skin-to-skin care, is an emerging practice in the NICU which does encourage touch and holding of the infant. This close skin-to-skin contact can help an infant regulate their breathing, heart rate and body temperature. Being close to the parents also encourages bonding and connection. Once a baby is stable enough for touch via skin-to-skin contact and containment holds, infant massage may then be introduced slowly to provide an infant with an appropriate amount of developmentally appropriate stimulation.

Infant Massage has been shown to have numerous benefits for the baby, parents and healthcare team.

For infants; infant massage can:

• Facilitate weight gain in preterm infants, lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone
• Increases muscle tone
• Improves sleep and awake patterns
• Shortens lengths of stay in hospitals
• Improves cognitive and motor development at eight months of age
• Recent research shows there are significant benefits to infant massage that out weigh over-stimulation
• Properly applied techniques produce increased benefits, such as improved developmental scores and earlier discharge

Healthcare staff and specially trained pediatric massage therapists may introduce infant massage into a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to facilitate a safe, effective family centered care approach.

T’ai chi ch’uan, also known as Tai ji quan, is a comprehensive system developed by the Chinese which combines gentle exercising, meditation, internal martial arts and is aimed to foster preventative health. The Chinese have known for more than three centuries that it is best suited to older people and is ideally mastered when you are young. Nevertheless, this method, in its simplest forms, incorporating specific stance, can be quickly picked up by senior citizens.

Taichi should be undertaken on a regular basis, as it helps to reduce stress and eliminate tension; its gentle performance calls for a controlled breathing pattern and a full expansion of the lungs. It’s important to fully flex the diaphragm and open up the lungs to their fullest capacity and this in turn also helps to massage your internal organs. You are supposed to stand in a certain way, with a relaxed and somewhat sunken form and this will help to foster stability and balance. When you align your head, neck and spine correctly you should not experience too much tension and be fully stable.

Seniors can be vulnerable to unsteadiness and falling and training here can be invaluable in helping to reduce this risk. You must use a slow, deep and consistent breathing pattern and must always employ the correct stance, but will soon become aware of a greater sense of ease and contentment. As you become more accustomed to this practice, you will be aware of a significant release of tension throughout the body. Many people say that this helps to allow the senior citizen to monitor their own internal systems more and become aware of smaller aches and issues before they grow into something bigger. When you focus on these tensions or aches from steady breathing, you can help to release that tension. It’s hardly surprising that taichi for seniors is such a popular preventative health method in communities throughout the nation.

All of these findings have been backed up by clinical studies, as practitioners have been shown to be under control and reduce the symptoms of chronic and long-term conditions. Those who suffer from heart issues have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and their blood pressure. Those suffering from diabetes exhibit lower blood sugar levels and significantly increased levels of energy after just six months of practice. Even more studies indicate that this can help reduce back pain and the incidence of falls and fractures among those who would otherwise be prone to them.
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Finally, we should note that taichi for seniors also helps to enhance the general lives of practitioners, as they feel fulfilled in their new skill and have much more confidence, bolstered by a sharply enhanced outlook. Nothing can be more relaxing and enjoyable than performing taichi during the early morning in a pleasant environment, along with other friends and acquaintances. It’s much more enjoyable, after all, than trying to tackle a sweaty treadmill in a gym somewhere, or another difficult and potentially dangerous exercising regime.

One of the glowing diamonds in the crown of Coopervision is Biomedics. And the all encompassing portfolio comprises of 1-2 week disposable lenses such as Biomedics 38, Biomedics 55, Biomedics 55 Premier and Biomedics 1 Day.

Biomedics 38: These are bi-weekly lenses which the user can wear, without removing them, for fourteen consecutive days. The chance of pathogen build ups is almost nil, which results into crystal clear vision. These lenses are slightly tinted so that they can be easily found when it is inside the solution or you are wearing them. The USP of these lenses is the material of which it is made – hydrophilic polymer of 2-hydroxymethylmethacrylate (2-HEMA) cross linked with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate. This special material has very high water quantity (38%) as well as exceptional mechanical strength. While hydrated, it returns to its original state after deformation due to its elasticity.

Biomedics 55: These lenses are quite similar with Biomedics 38. The user doesn’t have to clean them and it is a huge advantage as in most cases eye infections occurs during the depositing/cleaning process. These lenses are even better for your eyes than Biomedics 38 as these are made of Ocufilcon D which has water content of 55%.

Biomedics 55 Premier: Among all the Biomedics products, this is the best one. The aspheric design used in it provides the user the best vision possible. Though these are bi-weekly lenses but they should be cleaned on a daily basis. There is no chance of eye infection or irritation while wearing these Ocufilcon made lenses.

Biomedics 1 Day: As far as comfort is concerned, nothing is better than daily disposables. And this one is a real gem of a contact lens. Need no cleaning & depositing and should be disposed only after a day’s use. That’s why these lenses are most suitable for patients new to wearing contact lenses or for those patients suffering from allergies. The icing on the cake is the Len’s capability to protect the eyes from deadly UV rays.
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But don’t forget to consult your eye doctor before going for these lenses as spectacle prescription is not same as contact prescription. And if he gives a green signal, then buy it online. You will find that buying contact lenses online is a more affordable option than buying from your neighbourhood optician. Online suppliers offer lower prices as they buy contacts in bulk and they have no over head cost. So, what are you waiting for? Have the most suitable Biomedics contact lenses for you today to pamper your eyes.

No matter how much you love your child who has autism, there will inevitably come times when you become frustrated with the whole situation. At times, it seems like you’re on a never-ending roller coaster ride, with all the highs interspersed with the lows. While each day is unpredictable for parents who have a child with autism, there are still things that you can do to make things better, both for yourself and for your child.

Children with autism are shown to work best with structure, so create a system that is consistent and easy-to-understand. Come up with a schedule that they can follow daily. For example, you can come up with a plan on what time he or she will have meals, take baths, go to school or therapy, and when to go to bed. It’s important that the schedule you set up remains consistent, because children with autism have greater difficulty adapting if the things around them frequently change.

One thing that parents will need to do is to make their home child-safe, even if their son or daughter who has autism is already beyond the childhood stage. Some individuals who have autism are prone to doing self-injurious behaviors or throwing tantrums that can hurt them physically, so try to keep all objects that can harm them (ex. scissors, knives) out of reach.

Of course, it’s not only your child that needs help in coping with the condition. You will also need to find ways to help you adapt with the situation, because taking care of someone who has autism is far from easy. If possible, try looking for support groups of families who also have someone with autism in their homes. Not only do they understand what you’re going through, but they can also help to ease some of your concerns. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help when you need it. Above all, don’t go through self-blame, because none of this is your fault. The important thing is for you to be emotionally and mentally strong in order to take better care of your child.

Studies have unequivocally shown that one of the most important things that you can do for an autistic child is to be there for them. Don’t lose hope when there doesn’t seem to be any visible improvements in the condition of your child. Your efforts are never in vain, even if the progress seems to go by slowly. The most important thing that you can do for your child is to show him or her your love and support.

One of the most common injuries in professional wrestling today and yesteryear is and will probably always be… the concussion.

In the past, athletes were not too concerned about a concussion. They just thought, what the hell, you’re knocked silly, dizzy for a bit and a little tired, but the feeling goes away. Nowadays, more research is being done and they are realizing the long term effects can be serious and sometimes even fatal.

What is a concussion? A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions. Your brain is a soft organ that is surrounded by spinal fluid and protected by your hard skull. Normally, the fluid around your brain acts like a cushion that keeps your brain from banging into your skull. But if your head or your body is hit unexpectedly hard,or has a sudden impact, your brain can suddenly crash into your skull and temporarily stop working normally..

But what about concussions in pro wrestling? Where wrestlers don’t always get the proper rest and time to heal before that next booking? Some wrestlers don’t even realize they have a concussion when the step into the ring the next night. Others misinterpret the symptoms as just being tired, or having a big wrestling weekend and just being exhausted from the traveling, the hurry up and wait in the locker room and the busy weekend. So what are the symptoms of a concussion?

You do not need to have ALL of the following symptoms to have a concussion:

• headache or feeling of pressure in the head
• temporary loss of consciousness
• feeling of nausea or dizziness
• loss of short term memory
• lethargic, drowsy feeling, fatigue
• slurred speech
• confusion or “feeling like in a haze/fog”
• dilated eyes or “dead”eye stare
• temporary loss of depth perception

More severe symptoms include

• inability to concentrate or memory problems
• lack of balance/equilibrium
• sensitivity to light/noise
• sleep disturbances
• change in personality/ rapid mood swings

***PLEASE NOTE – A concussion may show symptoms immediately or symptoms can appear up to 72 hours or more after head trauma occurred.

Usually in wrestling, what happens is a wrestler, either gets knocked out in the ring, or more commonly, can make it to the back on his/her own, but knows they were “knocked silly” during the match… the best way to test for a concussion is as follows:

-ask simple questions (what day is it, where are they, who are they…etc)
-dizziness or nauseous feeling
-check for slurred speech/stuttering, not making sense when speaking
-have person keep head still and follow your finger with their eyes
-have them grab your index fingers and squeeze…should be strong equal pressure on both fingers, no weak grasps
-“Walk the DUI line” test to check balance and equilibrium
-Check pulse and blood pressure ( if available) standard BP is 120/80 and standard Pulse should be around 70 pulses per minute
-Give sugar to raise blood sugar levels…
-Check for dilated or “dead eye” stare

***if you have these or any other symptoms, you should get check out by a health care professional***

The next question people usually ask is what is the treatment/how do I treat a concussion? Simple, there is no magic pill to make the concussion go away. Time and rest the is best medicine for this diagnosis. Depending on the severity of the concussion, you may consider seeking medical attention and have more testing done such as a MRI or CT Scan, basically special equipment is used to take X Rays or pictures of your brain to make sure your brain is not bruised or bleeding.

So what are the long term effects of a concussion or, in some pro wrestler’s cases… repeated concussions. For the most part, if you only have one to two mild concussions, chances are, there will be no long term effects and you should be fine. But for those who have had repeated concussions, things can take a more long term effect. Recent studies have taken place regarding this subject, Dr. Maryse Lassonde of the University of Montreal conducted studies comparing athletes who had a history of concussions. When compared to one another they appeared within normal ranges, when compared to those who had not had concussions, did problems arise. Slight deficits it was determined are comparable to early stages of dementia, a disease usually effecting the elderly.

The brain of nine-year NFL veteran Tom McHale, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 45, was donated and the results of the biopsy showed that he suffered from a severe degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It was caused by repeated concussions.

Testing was also performed on Chris Benoit’s brain tissue, a wrestling legend that took not only his own life, but the life of his wife and child during the height of his career. Julian Bailes, Chairman of Neurosurgery at West Virginia University and a founding member of the Sports Legacy Institute has stated that “These extreme changes throughout Chris Benoit’s brain are enough to explain aberrant behavior, including suicide and even homicide.”

“I can’t tell you if trauma was the sole or only factor, but these pathological issues are there,” said Dr. Robert Cantu, Chief of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital Concord, Mass. and another founding member of the Sports Legacy Institute. Benoit also had a long history of steroid use as well that could have been a contributing factor.

Indeed, by the time the 40-year-old Benoit killed himself, he had the brain of a man aged 80 or older with “very severe” Alzheimer’s disease, according to Cantu. “His was the most extensively damaged of the brains we have examined so far,” Cantu said. Who has also conducted studies on 4 other athletes brains to test this subject.

I recently sat down with Joey “kAos” Munoz, owner of Santino Bros Wrestling Academy in Bell Gardens, CA. Head Trainer & a 17 year veteran of wrestling, kAos made a name for himself as one of the homegrown talents of Xtreme Pro Wrestling, a company known for its extreme hardcore style of wrestling that incorporated the use of barbwire, thumbtacks, tables, light tubes and yes, chairs.
Now knowing that this athlete has taken numerous chair shots to the head in the past 17 years, I asked what he felt about his students taking chair shots? This is what he said, ” Here in 2011 at Santino Bros Wrestling Academy, I do not condone chair shots to the head. I think I have taken enough shots for my students, so that way they don’t have to take any chairshots! But this is the wrestling business and it is about what the promoters want and are looking for.
He continues, “I know it may sound hypocritical to say, but I do teach my students still how to give and how to take a chairshot. I do encourage them to take chairs across the back rather than to the head. Headshots I don’t how how you can safely take them without damaging yourself, but I can them (my students) my best advice. Cause’ its better to have some advice, than no advice. As for me, the damage is probably already done.”

So what is the bottom line here? Live life in a bubble and never try to live your dreams? No. Work Smarter, Not Harder! I know the crowd loves to chant “get the chair” and watch wrestlers take chair shots back and forth. Or even some of the insane dives I have seen throughout my years, but really, is it worth it in the long run? Is the crowd going to be there when (hopefully) you get older and brain starts to disintegrate at a more rapid pace than it should? I completely understand the adrenaline rush the crowd gives you, but when all is said and done, the crowd goes home and your left in an empty arena, reality tends to kick you in the ass. Never give up your dreams, whats life without dreams? But also, remember you only got one body and one brain… whose in control? The fans or you?

One thing above all else raises us above the ‘lower’ animals. We have the ability to contemplate the future, and imagine the wonderful things we can accomplish if we set a target and work consistently toward that end. They, with their limited mental faculties, can only live in the ‘here and now.’ They have no concept of ‘deferred gratification.’ Pigeons can be trained to resist an immediate food reward if they know they’ll get a bigger and tastier prize a short while after, but they’ll wait no more than a few seconds. Monkeys can hold back for a minute or two, while bigger brained apes have the self control to wait twenty minutes or longer. Humans, with their highly developed cerebral hemispheres, can do even better. If they’re so inclined, they can choose to go on a forty day fast to purify their souls, or risk premature death by following a protracted hunger strike. This faculty of self-determination raises us way above our fellow creatures.

But there’s another brain function which nullifies that power. This we share with all other animals. Deep in the limbic system of our brain there’s a primordial ‘pleasure centre‘ which is activated when we have sex, eat or take psychedelic drugs. When electrodes are placed in this area, attached to an on-off lever, animals will give up everything else and frantically press the lever to get an ecstatic high. This is the root cause of addictive behaviour. The alcoholic buys oblivion today for the price of liver cirrhosis tomorrow. To get a short term rush of adrenaline, the gambler gives no thought for the poverty he’ll suffer when his luck runs out. The same applies to the shopaholic, who run up credit card debts buying jewellery and clothes they know they can’t afford. Food junkies, through their short-termism, suffer a similar fate.

Somehow we must learn to strike a proper balance between immediate pleasure and long term rewards. If we do this we’ll overcome the tendency to put on weight, and gain a raft of other benefits. Psychologists at Columbia University, New York discovered this when they submitted children to a ‘marshmallow’ test, and then followed them up in later life. They found that youngsters who had the strength of mind to resist eating a marshmallow, on the promise that they’d be given a second in a few moments’ time, gained better exam results and secured higher paid jobs when they left school. They also enjoyed superior overall health and more successful marriages. The good news is that this admirable level of self discipline can be acquired by patient practice.

A test carried out at the State University of New York showed that people who work to improve their posture over a two week period, find it easier to carry out other tasks that require similar self-control. The same conclusion was reached by the marshmallow experimenters, who said: ‘Sticking to a plan to go to the gym or exercising other forms of self-control can, over time, boost your resolve in other domains.’ All of which means that you can achieve lifetime weight control if you give less attention to the pleasures of the ‘here and now’ and pay more thought to the rewards you want to achieve a few years hence. This deferred gratification is in line with the affirmation of Ella Wheeler Wilcox, the American author and poet, who wrote: ‘There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.’