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6A TOjc Heraltr <©a?tttt Tuesday, August 17,2021 CHILDREN AND HEALTH Children are not invulnerable to stroke Though it’s predomi nantly associated with adults, stroke does not discriminate based on age and can potentially affect children. The American Stroke Associa tion® notes that, while stroke is most com mon among the elderly, strokes also occur in tod dlers, children and teen agers. According to the ASA, signs of stroke are often missed in children and teens because of a general lack of awareness that stroke can affect them. That’s in spite of the fact that stroke is among the top 10 causes of death in children in the United States. Learning to spot a stroke is vital for people of all ages, and parents of young children are no exception. The ASA has developed the acronym “F.A.S.T.” to help people remember the signs of stroke. • F = Face drooping • A = Arm weakness • S = Speech difficulty • T = Time to call 911 (the ASA advises any one who recognizes any of the aforementioned symptoms in toddlers, children and teens to call 911 immediately) Because many people are unaware that young children can suffer from stroke, it can be easy to assume symptoms of stroke are indicative of something else. But the ASA urges parents to rec ognize some additional warning signs of stroke in children, including: • Sudden severe head ache: These are espe cially concerning when accompanied by vomit ing and sleepiness. • Sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the body: Affected areas may include the face, arm and/or leg on the left or right side of the body. • Sudden confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding others. • Sudden trouble see ing in one or both eyes. • Sudden difficulty with motor functions: Children may have trou ble walking, suddenly feel dizzy, and/or experi ence a loss of balance or coordination. • New onset of sei zures, typically on one side of the body: Blood clots that form in the heart and travel to the brain are one poten tial cause of ischemic stroke in children. These issues may be a result of congenital heart prob lems, so it’s vital that parents of children born with such issues recog nize the potential for their children to suffer strokes. In addition, the ASA notes that roughly 10 percent of children with sickle cell disease, which adversely affects the ability of blood cells to carry oxygen to the brain, suffer ischemic stroke. Children also may be vulnerable to hemor rhagic strokes, which are most often caused by rupturing, weakened or malformed arteries known as arteriovenous malformations. Hemor rhagic stroke risk is also higher among children who have hemophilia. Though Johns Hopkins Medicine reports that pediatric stroke is a rela tively rare condition, it’s one that parents should be aware of. That’s es pecially true for parents of children born with certain conditions. More information is available at www.stroke.org. Georgia Department of Public Health District 4 Public Health LAMAR COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT Lamar County Health Department 100 Academy Drive Barneville, GA 30204 Phone (770)358-1483 Make your appointment today! Clinic: 1(800)847-4262 /(706)845-4035 WIC: 1(866)636-7942 / (706)298-6080 Hours Monday - Friday 8:00a.m.- 5:00p.m. We Protect Lives. www.district4health.org SftfSH fit District4Health 0 D4publichealth Serving: Butts, Carroll, Coweta, Fayette, Heard, Henry, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, Troup and Upson Counties. VI How volunteering benefits students Nine signs your child is having vision problems Volunteering is often seen through the lens of how volunteers help to improve their communi ties. Though there’s no denying the valuable role volunteers play in strengthening their communities, it’s worth noting just how much volunteers can benefit from donating their time and effort to worthy causes. A 2020 study pub lished in the Journal of Happiness asked 70,000 participants about their volunteering habits and mental health. The study found that, when compared to those who did not volun teer, people who had volunteered in the previous 12 months were more satisfied with their lives and gave their overall health higher ratings. Volunteer ing can ben efit anyone, and can be especially valuable to students, benefitting their overall health and helping in myriad other ways as well. • Volunteering can get a foot in the door. The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that employers expect to hire 7.2 percent more new college gradu ates from the class of 2021 than they did from the class of 2020. That’s encouraging news, but recent graduates will still face stiff competition as they look for their first job. Volunteering with an organization in their field can be a great way for current students and recent graduates to get their foot in the door. Even if a volunteering op portunity does not ulti mately lead to a job offer, the experience students gain can help them stand out in a crowded pool of job applicants down the road. • Volunteering can help students find a ca reer path. A 2017 report from the U.S. Depart ment of Education found that about 30 percent of undergraduates in as sociate’s and bachelor’s degree programs who had declared majors changed their majors at least once within three years of their initial enrollment. The same report noted that roughly one in 10 changed majors more than once. Those statistics suggest that many students are un certain about what they want to study at the onset of their college careers. Volunteering be fore and during college can help students explore their interests and see where their skills are applicable. They can then rely on that experience as they choose a major. • Volunteering ex pands students’ social horizons. Volunteers serve and work alongside people from a variety of socio-economic back grounds. That’s a great way to see the world through a new perspec tive, and it also can posi tively affect students’ eventual careers. Profes sionals who have worked with people of various backgrounds are in bet ter position to effectively communicate with a wider array of people, which can help them build a more diverse set of business relationships. Organizations recognize that value and often pri oritize hiring candidates with the kind of strong interpersonal skills stu dents develop through volunteering. Volunteering can be a great way for students to develop an array of skills that can benefit their per sonal and professional lives for years to come. As many a parent can attest, decoding a youngster’s needs can be challenging when that child is not yet able to fully communicate. Diag nosing health issues may require a little trial and error. So it’s no wonder many parents are not aware if their children are having issues with vision. Routine wellness exams by your child’s physician can help to determine if a child is hav ing problems with his or her vision. Doctors may detect subtle ties that parents may not see, including signs that suggest kids are having trouble with their vision. The American Opto- metric Association rec ommends vision exams at age six months, three years and before entering first grade, as well as ev ery two years thereafter until age 18. Initial vision assessments typically take place in a pediatri cian’s office. Parents can speak with their chil dren’s pediatrician and ask if he or she can look for signs of vision trouble in their sons or daugh ters. Some pediatricians may recommend children visit an optometrist or ophthalmologist. In addition to speaking with their children’s pe diatricians, parents can keep an eye out for the Being overweight or obese is a serious medical condition that can affect people of all ages. Carrying around too many pounds can be especially problematic for children because it may put them on the path to health prob lems that once generally only affected adults. Such issues include diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The Mayo Clinic advises that childhood obesity can following warning signs children may exhibit when they’re experienc ing vision disorders. • Squinting, which can be a sign of compensat ing for poor vision. • Sitting too close to the television or holding a tablet screen close to the face. • Covering or shutting one eye. • Rubbing eyes due to visual fatigue and not general fatigue. • Pulling toys or other objects closer. • Head tilting, which could be a sig nal that vision may be better in one eye than the other. • Inability to make steady eye contact or track an object in an infant older than three months of age. • Crossed or mis aligned eyes after age four months. • Children who are easily distracted in learn ing situations or have dif ficulty paying attention may be losing interest due to trouble with their vision. A proactive approach to eye health by par ents when children are young can help correct problems early on and ensure children can see and function successfully through the years. Early treatment can lead to ma jor, long-term improve ments in vision. contribute to poor self esteem and depression. Fortunately, improving kids’ eating habits, such as ensuring kids eat nutrient-dense, low-calorie foods, and in creasing physi cal activity are two ways to help kids main tain healthy weights. Parents who have concerns about their children’s weight should consult with a pediatrician, who may recommend a body mass index test. Volunteering can be a great way for stu dents to devel op an array of skills that can benefit their personal and professional lives for years to come. Obesity...did you know? Summer Sniffles?... Hines Prescription Shop CAN HELP! 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