Monday, December 1, 2008

Cold Cuts and Pregnancy

A cold cut is also known by the alternative name generally known as lunch meat. Eating cold cut at the time of pregnancy is usually not recommended as pre-packaged cold cuts food contains a high level of sodium nitrate that can cause problems during pregnancy.
A cold cut contains a bacteria largely known as listeria that can be found in processed foods as well as in vegetables. There are number of problems that these harmful bacteria can cause at the time of pregnancy, which includes premature delivery, miscarriage, infection to new born baby and death of the baby. An infected pregnant women infected with listeria may experience confusion, headache, stiff neck and loss of balance.
A pregnant women must stay away from the certain food items such as seafood pates, processed meats that includes hot dogs. The most common symptoms of listeria includes fever, nausea, headache, muscle ache, stiff neck and vomiting. Hence, in order to avoid getting this harmful bacteria, a pregnant women must stay away from cold cuts and processed foods. Listeira can survive in extreme cold temperatures and that means there is still a little bit of chance that it could make a pregnant women sick.
A research undertaken by Food and Drug Administration prohibits a pregnant women from taking cold cut consisting of salami, turkey and bologna unless they are reheated until steaming hot. There are various other experts, saying that a cold cut must be avoided by a pregnant women altogether as they are full of preservatives, salt and fat. A pregnant women in order to take a cold cut must take the following points into consideration:
· A pregnant women must wash fruits and vegetables properly under the clean running water.
· A pregnant women must only consume only those milk products that are mainly made from pasteurized milk.
· A pregnant women must cook and heat the raw meat thoroughly.
· A pregnant women must avoid consuming soft cheeses.
· A pregnant women must keep the other food items such as vegetables and cooked foods separate from the raw meat or cold cut.
· A pregnant women must wash hands and knives thoroughly after cutting and handling uncooked foods.
A pregnant women diagnosed with listeria must consult her doctor immediately. The doctor may give her antibiotics in order to prevent infection of the fetus. If it remains untreated then it may also result in fetus death. Therefore, it is necessary for a pregnant women to take adequate medications and precautions in order to prevent herself from any kind of problem in the long run.

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Cold Drinks and Pregnancy

A pregnancy is one of the important phases in any women’s life. During pregnancy she must take proper care of herself so that she may be able to conceive a healthy child. For this purpose, she must take proper medications, exercise regularly and take a healthy balanced diet. A healthy balanced diet is essential for the growth and development of the baby. Eating healthy balanced diet by a pregnant women reduces some of the problems that can arise during the time of delivering a baby.

A pregnant women at the time of pregnancy is encouraged to drink plenty of fluids in the form of water and juices, along with an appropriate amount of milk. However, there are varying conflicts and opinions about taking caffeine in pregnancy, which ism largely present in cold drinks and coffee. But all agree at one point that one or two servings of caffeine is alright for a pregnant women.

Taking one or two cups of caffeine is alright but a large amount of sugar drinks must be avoided during pregnancy as it might increase blood sugar values, which lead to the gestational diabetes and prove to be fatal for the babies health.
A pregnant women will be doing a lot of good for her as well as for her unborn child if she resists drinking cold drinks during pregnancy. She must avoid gassy cold drinks, especially the artificial sweetened ones. The cold drinks that contain gases can make a pregnant women nauseous. Instead of taking cold drinks, a pregnant women can take milk and dairy products that provide a large amount of calcium needed to build the babies bones and teeth plus riboflavin and protein.

A pregnant women instead of taking these artificial sweeteners must plenty of liquids especially pure and clean water. Water is known to be a great cleansing agent as it helps the body to flush out breakdown products trough kidneys, bowels and skin.
Various researches undertaken by the nutritional experts have concluded that beverages that contain caffeine such as coffee and cold drinks tend to have smaller babies than those who don’t. A high consumption of caffeine is often linked to an increased risk of miscarriage.
Thus, a pregnant women can drink cold drinks during pregnancy but in moderation or unless as directed by the doctor.

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Pregnancy and Crouping Cough

A pregnant women is much more susceptible to common cold than any other normal human beings. This is due to the fact that the immune system of pregnant women is slightly less effective at the time of pregnancy. This allows the body of a pregnant women to be more sensitive to various kinds of cold diseases than they would be otherwise.
Coughing can bring a pressure on the pregnant women’s stomach. It becomes very much imperative to take the required medications in order to stop the cough. Cough not only affects a pregnant women but it also has certain kind of effect on their baby’s health also. Parents often find barking cough as underiable and very hard to overlook. There is another type of cough known as crouping cough that mainly leads to health disorders among the children’s.

Crouping cough is a kind of respiratory problem mainly among the young children’s. It is also known by the name ‘Laryngotracheobronchitis’. It’s like a severe cough that can be found normally in the children of ages between three months and five year old. Attack of crouping cough in children’s can be rarely serious, and they usually get better with several days of rest and care. Crouping cough sounds like a seal barking. Croup generally occurs during the early winter and spring.

This kind of cough is caused is caused by the same viruses or bacteria that causes common cold. When the children’s are affected by this cough then their airways get inflamed and sound like a seal barking. The symptoms of crouping cough include hoarse voice, barking cough, mild fever, harsh noise when breathing in and difficulty in breathing. The child may also appear to be pale from not getting the enough oxygen. The symptoms of crouping cough often becomes severe at night and when is child is crying. These are enough signs that a child needs a immediate medical attention.
Most of the crouping cough cases can be treated at home. One of the best home remedy for crouping cough that the affected children’s or babies must be given a hot steam bath and a cool humidifier must be placed in the room while sleeping. Some of the experts also recommend sitting in a bathroom placing baby in hands with hot water running for ten minutes. Doing this activity usually alleviates breathing problems to an extent. If the fever is accompanied with cough then Tylenol is a good treatment.
The affected babies must immediately taken to the doctor if the condition becomes worse. The doctor will provide the appropriate suggestions and prescribed medications for your lonely baby.

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Cold Sore and Pregnancy

Cold sores in pregnancy can be really serious for the new mothers or first time mothers. It is indeed a very deadly combination. The herpes simplex virus is not a genetic condition as it can be automatically passed on the unborn child. If a women is first time pregnant then there are high chances of passing it on to her baby and this can prove really fatal for the baby. Cold sore sign of pregnancy also. A pregnant women must get immediately in contact with her doctor, if she is infected with this disease.

Cold sores are caused by a virus generally known as herpes simplex pregnancy. Cold are not very dangerous but it is possible for the virus to spread to various other parts of the body. These are mainly red blisters that usually occur near the lips or on them. Also, a women at the time of pregnancy must avoid certain food containing amino acid arginine such as nuts, peanuts, chocolates, raisins, grains, etc as these food items are known be a contributing factor in the outbreak of herpes simplex.
This disease can be transmitted to the genital area of the pregnant women, thus good hand washing is pretty much required. The symptoms of cold sores include neuralgic pain, irritation under the weather and constant itching across the area to be affected just before an outbreak occurs. A women can get a herpes simplex if she has a sexual contact with a partner already infected with Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) or if an infected person performs oral sex. A large number of people usually do not know that they are infected as they have no symptoms or they are very mild to notice.
A HSV can be transmitted to the baby during birth if the virus is already present in birth canal. Your baby can also catch this virus if someone infected with this disease probably kissed him. If your baby is infected with cold sore then you must avoid kissing him until he is properly cured. If you kiss your baby then there are chances that the virus can pass on to you as well. Also avoid sharing cups and other utensils if you have a cold sore.

This deadly virus can certainly harm the baby as it is a life threatening disease. HSV causes neonatal herpes, which can cause eye or mouth infections, skin infections, damage to the nervous system, mental retardation or death. Early medication can go a long way in preventing this disease.
A cold sore can be treated rather very easily as it gradually disappears on its own. If a baby is bothered by a sore then a mild pain reliever can be given to him in the form of ibuprofen or acetaminophen. In case, if the baby is three months old, then it is necessary to take the baby to the doctor. Never give aspirin to the baby as it could cause a deadly disease known as Reye’s syndrome, which can be a life threatening one. One of the beat ways to prevent the baby from neonatal herpes is to prevent genital HSV at the time of late pregnancy.

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