Common Cold

Bringing sniffles and sneezes and perhaps a sore throat and annoying cough, the common cold catches all of us from time to time.

With kids getting as many as eight colds per year or more, this contagious viral infection of the upper respiratory tract is the most common infectious disease in the United States and the No. 1 reason kids visit the doctor and stay home from school.

Causes

Most colds are caused by rhinoviruses that are in invisible droplets in the air we breathe or on things we touch. More than 100 different rhinoviruses can infiltrate the protective lining of the nose and throat, triggering an immune system reaction that can cause a throat sore and headache, and make it hard to breathe through the nose.

Air that's dry — indoors or out — can lower resistance to infection by the viruses that cause colds. And so can being a smoker or being around someone who's smoking. People who smoke are more likely to catch a cold than people who don't — and their symptoms will probably be worse, last longer, and are more likely to lead to bronchitis or even pneumonia.

But despite what old wives' tales may have you believe, not wearing a jacket or sweater when it's chilly, sitting or sleeping in a draft, and going outside while your hair's wet do not cause colds.

Signs and Symptoms

The first symptoms of a cold are often a tickle in the throat, a runny or stuffy nose, and sneezing. Kids with colds may also have a sore throat, cough, headache, mild fever, fatigue, muscle aches, and loss of appetite. Nasal discharge may change from watery to thick yellow or green.

Contagiousness

Colds are most contagious during the first 2 to 4 days after symptoms appear, and may be contagious for up to 3 weeks. Your can catch a cold from person-to-person contact or by breathing in virus particles spread through the air by sneezing or coughing. Touching the mouth or nose after touching skin or another surface contaminated with a rhinovirus can also spread a cold.

Prevention

Because so many viruses cause them, there isn't a vaccine that can protect against catching colds. But to help prevent them, kids should:

• try to steer clear of anyone who smokes or who has a cold. Virus particles can travel up to 12 feet through the air when someone with a cold coughs or sneezes, and secondhand smoke can make your child more likely to get sick.
• wash their hands thoroughly and frequently, especially after blowing their noses
• cover their noses and mouths when coughing or sneezing (have them sneeze or cough into a shirtsleeve, though, not their hands — this helps prevent the spread of germs)
• not use the same towels or eating utensils as someone who has a cold. They also shouldn't drink from the same glass, can, or bottle as anyone else — you never know who might be about to come down with a cold and is already spreading the virus.
• not pick up other people's used tissues

Researchers aren't sure whether taking extra zinc or vitamin C can limit how long cold symptoms last or how severe they become, but large doses taken every day can cause negative side effects.

The results of most studies on the value of herbal remedies, such as echinacea, are either negative or inconclusive, and few properly designed scientific studies of these treatments have been done in kids.

Talk to your doctor before you decide to give your child any herbal remedy or more than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of any vitamin or supplement.

Duration

Cold symptoms usually appear 2 or 3 days after exposure to a source of infection. Most colds clear up within 1 week, but some last for as long as 2 weeks.

Treatment

"Time cures all." That may not always be true, but in the case of the common cold, it's pretty close. Medicine can't cure the common cold, but it can be used to relieve such symptoms as muscle aches, headache, and fever. You can give your child acetaminophen or ibuprofen based on the package recommendations for age or weight.

However, aspirin should never be given to children younger than 12, and all kids and teens under age 19 shouldn't take aspirin during viral illnesses, because such use may increase the risk of developing Reye syndrome, a rare but serious condition that can be fatal.

Although you may be tempted to give your child over-the-counter (OTC) decongestants and antihistamines to try to ease the cold symptoms, there's little or no evidence to support that they actually work. In fact, decongestants can cause hallucinations, irritability, and irregular heartbeats in infants and shouldn't be used in children younger than 2 without first consulting a doctor.

Some ways you can help ease cold discomfort include:

• saltwater drops in the nostrils to relieve nasal congestion (you can buy these — also called saline nose drops — at any pharmacy)
• a cool-mist humidifier to increase air moisture
• petroleum jelly on the skin under the nose to soothe rawness
• hard candy or cough drops to relieve sore throat (for kids older than 3 years)
• a warm bath or heating pad to soothe aches and pains
• steam from a hot shower to help your child breathe more easily

But what about chicken soup? There's no real proof that eating it can cure a cold, but sick people have been swearing by it for more than 800 years. Why? Chicken soup contains a mucus-thinning amino acid called cysteine, and some research shows that chicken soup helps control congestion-causing white cells, called neutrophils.

The best plan, though, is not to worry about whether to "feed a cold" or "starve a fever." Just make sure your child eats when hungry and drinks plenty of fluids like water or juice to help replace the fluids lost during fever or mucus production. Avoid serving caffeinated beverages, though, which can cause frequent urination and, therefore, increase the risk of dehydration.

When to Call the Doctor

Your doctor won't be able to identify the specific virus causing cold symptoms, but can examine your child's throat and ears and take a throat culture to make sure the symptoms aren't from another condition that may need specific treatment. (If your child's symptoms get worse instead of better after 3 days or so, the problem could be strep throat, sinusitis, pneumonia, or bronchitis, especially if your child or teen smokes.)

Taking a throat culture is a simple, painless procedure that involves brushing the inside of the throat with a long cotton swab. Examining the germs that stick to the swab will help the doctor determine whether your child has strep throat and needs treatment with antibiotics.

If symptoms last for more than a week, appear at the same time every year, or occur when your child is exposed to pollen, dust, animals, or another substance, your child could have an allergy. A child who has trouble breathing or wheezes when he or she catches a cold could have asthma.

Also see your doctor if you think your child might have more than a cold or is getting worse instead of better.

Also call the doctor if your child has any of these symptoms:

• coughing up a lot of mucus
• shortness of breath
• unusual lethargy/tiredness
• inability to keep food or liquids down or poor fluid intake
• increasing headache or facial or throat pain
• severely painful sore throat that interferes with swallowing
• fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.3° Celsius) or higher, or a fever of 101° Fahrenheit (38.0° Celsius) or higher that lasts for more than a day
• chest or stomach pain
• swollen glands (lymph nodes) in the neck
• earache

Like most virus infections, colds just have to run their course. Getting plenty of rest, avoiding vigorous activity, and drinking lots of fluids — juice, water, and noncaffeinated beverages — all may help your child feel better while on the mend.

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Appendicitis

Appendicitis requires immediate medical attention so it's important to learn its symptoms — and how they differ from a run-of-the-mill stomachache — so you can seek medical care right away.

The symptoms of appendicitis (which is inflammation of the appendix) start with a mild fever and pain around the bellybutton, and can be accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation. The stomach pain usually worsens and moves to the lower right side of the belly.

Call your doctor immediately if you suspect that your child has appendicitis. The earlier it's caught, the easier and quicker it will be to treat.

About Appendicitis

The appendix is a small finger-like organ that's attached to the large intestine in the lower right side of the abdomen. The inside of the appendix forms a cul-de-sac that usually opens into the large intestine. When that opening gets blocked, the appendix swells and can easily get infected by bacteria.

If the infected appendix isn't removed, it can burst and spread bacteria and infection throughout the abdomen and lead to serious health problems.

Appendicitis mostly affects kids between the ages of 11 and 20, and is rare in infants. Most cases of appendicitis occur between October and May. A family history of appendicitis may increase a child's risk, especially in males.

Symptoms

Call the doctor immediately if your child shows symptoms of appendicitis, including:

• significant abdominal pain, especially around the bellybutton or in the lower right part of the abdomen (perhaps coming and going and then becoming consistent and sharp)
• low-grade fever
• loss of appetite
• nausea and vomiting
• diarrhea (especially small amounts, with mucus)
• frequent urination and/or an abnormally strong urge to urinate
• swollen or bloated abdomen, especially in infants

There is no way to prevent appendicitis, but with sophisticated diagnostic tests and antibiotics, most cases are identified and treated without complications.

If appendicitis goes untreated, the inflamed appendix can burst 24 to 72 hours after the symptoms begin. If the appendix has burst, the pain may spread across the whole abdomen, and the child's fever may be very high, reaching 104° Fahrenheit (40° Celsius).

The symptoms of appendicitis can vary according to a child's age. In kids 2 years old or younger, the most common symptoms are vomiting and a bloated or swollen abdomen, accompanied by pain.

If you suspect that your child has appendicitis, call your doctor immediately and don't give your child any pain medication or anything to eat or drink unless instructed to by the doctor.

Diagnosis

Because the symptoms of appendicitis can be so similar to those of other medical conditions, it's often a challenge for doctors to diagnose it.

To confirm or rule out appendicitis, a doctor will examine the abdomen for signs of pain and tenderness, orders blood and urine tests, X-rays of the abdomen and chest, and a CT scan.

If the doctor suspects appendicitis, you may be told to stop giving your child any food or liquids in order to prepare for surgery.

Treatment

Appendicitis is treated by removing the inflamed appendix through an appendectomy. Surgeons usually remove an appendix either by making a traditional incision in the abdomen or by using a small surgical device (a laparoscope) that creates a smaller opening. An appendectomy usually requires a 2- to 3-day hospital stay.

Before and after surgery, intravenous (IV) fluids and antibiotics will help keep infection at bay and decrease the risk for wound infections after surgery. If needed, your child will also receive pain medication.

If the infected appendix bursts, it must still be removed surgically, but a longer hospital stay may be needed so that antibiotics can kill any bacteria that have spread in the child's body.

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Cataracts

Jake likes to visit his Grandma Fran on his way home from school. She always has special treats for him like his favorite homemade chocolate chip cookies, and she takes time to help him with his homework.

Lately, though, Jake's noticed that Grandma Fran has trouble reading some of his assignments. When Jake asked her if anything was wrong, Grandma Fran explained that she has cataracts - her glasses used to help, but now she needs to have an operation that will help her eyes see better again.

An operation sounds scary, right? But actually many older people like Jake's grandma develop cataracts as they age. Cataract surgery is common and is almost always successful. Let's find out more about it.

What Are Cataracts?

In your eye you have a lens, which is normally clear like a window that has just been cleaned. If that lens gets cloudy, it's called a cataract (say: kah-tuh-rakt). Like a dirty window, a cloudy lens makes it difficult to see well. The person can still see, but it's blurry.

The lens in your eye is made of protein and water. But as people get older, sometimes proteins in the lens stick together and cause cloudiness, or cataracts. At first, a person who has a cataract may not notice any difference in the way he or she sees. But over time, the person may find it harder to read and do other normal tasks. In fact, "cataract" means waterfall in Latin. Why? Because, if you have one, it can be like seeing through a waterfall.

Cataracts almost always happen to people who are older than 50. This is the type of cataract Jake's grandmother has. No need to worry - cataracts aren't contagious, which means you can't get cataracts from someone who has them.

Rarely, kids are born with cataracts or develop them while they are babies. When kids are born with cataracts, it may be because they inherited the cataracts (through their genes) or got them when they were still developing inside their mom before being born. Whether the person is young or old, cataract surgery usually solves the problem.

What Does the Doctor Do?

If a person has vision trouble, he or she should see an eye doctor. The doctor can test the person's vision and examine the eyes. When a cataract first forms, a person may be able to see better by using stronger lighting and wearing glasses. Eventually, though, surgery may become necessary.

During cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed and replaced with a new plastic lens that a person can easily see through. After the surgery, a person may be able to see better, or it may take a while for the person's vision to improve. After surgery, the person will have to do a few special things, like take eyedrops.

Cataract surgery is one of the most common operations performed in the United States. More than 1 million surgeries are done every year. That's a lot of eyes!

Why Do People Get Cataracts?

Like wrinkles on a person's skin, cataracts go along with getting older. Cataracts might happen to someone who's 50 or they might not happen until someone is 70. Certain factors make it more likely someone will develop cataracts. Some are difficult to avoid, such as having diabetes and taking certain medications.

But kids and adults can do something about other risk factors, such as smoking, poor nutrition, eye injuries, and unprotected exposure to the sun. In other words, don't smoke, eat healthy, protect your eyes from injury, and wear your sunglasses!

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Parkinson's Disease

What Is Parkinson's Disease?

You may have seen the actor Michael J. Fox on TV talking about Parkinson's disease. He has Parkinson's disease and has founded an organization to educate people about it and help find a cure. Mostly adults - like Fox and boxer Muhammad Ali - get Parkinson's disease, which is a disorder of the central nervous system. The central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, controls everything you do, including moving. A person with Parkinson's disease gradually loses the ability to totally control body movements.

In the very deep parts of the brain, there is a collection of nerve cells that help control movement, known as the basal ganglia (say: bay-sul gan-glee-ah). In a person with Parkinson's disease, these nerve cells are damaged and do not work as well as they should.

These nerve cells make and use a brain chemical called dopamine (say: doh-puh-meen) to send messages to other parts of the brain to coordinate body movements. When someone has Parkinson's disease, dopamine levels are low. So, the body doesn't get the right messages it needs to move normally.

What Causes Parkinson's Disease?

Experts agree that low dopamine levels in the brain cause the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but no one really knows why the nerve cells that produce dopamine get damaged and die. Some experts think that a change in a specific gene could explain why a person develops Parkinson's disease. Other experts think it could be something in the environment that causes the damage, such as pesticides or other chemicals.

No one knows the exact cause of Parkinson's disease, but we do know that it has been around for a long time. In 1817, an English physician named Dr. James Parkinson called it "Shaking Palsy." Eventually, the disease that Dr. Parkinson first described was named after him.

Who Gets Parkinson's Disease?

About 1 million people in the United States have Parkinson's disease, and both men and women can get it. Symptoms usually appear when a person is older than 50 and it becomes more common as people get older.

Many people wonder if you're more likely to get Parkinson's disease if you have a relative who has it. Although the role that heredity plays isn't completely understood, we do know that if a close relative like a parent, brother, or sister has Parkinson's, there is a greater chance of developing the disease. But Parkinson's disease is not contagious. You can't get it by simply being around someone who has it.

What Are the Symptoms?

The symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremors or trembling (shaking hands are often the most telltale signs of it); difficulty maintaining balance and coordination; trouble standing or walking; stiffness; and general slowness.

Over time, a person with Parkinson's may have trouble smiling, talking, or swallowing. Their faces may appear flat and without expression, but people with Parkinson's continue to have feelings - even though their faces don't always show it. And the disorder has no effect on thinking or memory. Because of problems with balance, some people with Parkinson's fall down a lot, which can result in broken bones. Some people with Parkinson's may also feel sad or depressed and lose interest in the things they used to do.

The symptoms of Parkinson's disease appear gradually and get worse over time. But because Parkinson's disease usually develops slowly, most people who have it can live a long and relatively healthy life.

Diagnosis and Treatment

A person with the symptoms of Parkinson's disease may be sent to see a neurologist, a doctor who specializes in the brain, nerves, and muscles. The neurologist may do some tests, including a brain scan and blood tests. These tests will not make the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, but the doctor will want to make sure that there is no other problem causing the symptoms. To diagnose Parkinson's disease, the doctor relies on a person's medical history, symptoms, and a physical exam.

If a doctor thinks a person has Parkinson's disease, there's reason for hope. Medicine can be used to eliminate or improve the symptoms, like the body tremors. And some experts think that a cure may be found in the near future.

For now, a medicine called levodopa is often given to people who have Parkinson's disease. Called "L-dopa," this medicine increases the amount of dopamine in the body and has been shown to improve a person's ability to walk and move around. There are other drugs that also help decrease and manage the symptoms of Parkinson's disease by affecting dopamine levels. In some cases, surgery may be needed to treat it. The person would get anesthesia, a special kind of medicine to prevent pain during the operation.

Living With Parkinson's Disease

As Parkinson's develops, a person who has it may slow down and won't be able to move or talk quickly. Sometimes, speech and occupational therapy are needed. This may sound silly, but someone who has Parkinson's disease may need to learn how to fall down safely. And if getting dressed is hard for a person with Parkinson's, clothing with Velcro and elastic can be easier to use than buttons and zippers. The person also might need to have railings installed around the house to prevent falls.

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Lou Gehrig's Disease

Lou Gehrig's disease is a disorder that's also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (say: ah-my-uh-tro-fik lah-tuh-rul skluh-ro-sis), or ALS. The official name comes from these Greek words:

• "a" for without
• "myo" for muscle
• "trophic" for nourishment
• "lateral" for side (of the spinal cord)
• "sclerosis" for hardening or scarring

So, amyotrophic means that the muscles have lost their nourishment. When this happens, they become smaller and weaker. Lateral means that the disease affects the sides of the spinal cord, where the nerves that nourish the muscles are located; and sclerosis means that the diseased part of the spinal cord develops hardened or scarred tissue in place of healthy nerves.

ALS is often called Lou Gehrig's disease after Lou Gehrig, a hall-of-fame baseball player for the New York Yankees who was diagnosed with ALS in the 1930s. People in England and Australia call ALS Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The French refer to it as Maladie de Charcot, after the French doctor Jean-Martin Charcot, who first wrote about ALS in 1869.

What Is Lou Gehrig's Disease?

Lou Gehrig's disease damages motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons are nerve cells that control muscle movement. Upper motor neurons send messages from the brain to the spinal cord, and lower motor neurons send messages from the spinal cord to the muscles. Motor neurons are an important part of the body's neuromuscular system. The neuromuscular system enables our bodies to move and is made up of the brain, many nerves, and muscles. Things that we do every day — like breathing, walking, running, lifting stuff, and even reaching for a glass of water — are all controlled by the neuromuscular system.

Here's how the neuromuscular system works: If you want to make a fist, your brain first sends signals through upper motor neurons to the area in your spinal cord that controls your hand muscles. Then lower motor neurons in your spinal cord signal the muscles in your hand to move and make a fist.

Over time, Lou Gehrig's disease causes these motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to shrink and disappear, so that the muscles no longer receive signals to move. As a result, the muscles become smaller and weaker. Gradually the body becomes paralyzed (say: par-uh-lized), which means that the muscles no longer work. However, someone with ALS, even at an advanced stage, can still see, hear, smell, and feel touch. The nerves that carry feelings of hot, cold, pain, pressure, or even being tickled, are not affected by Lou Gehrig's disease. The parts of the brain that allow us to think, remember, and learn are also not affected by the disease.

Although this disease can strike anyone, it is extremely rare in kids. According to the ALS Association, most people who develop Lou Gehrig's disease are adults between 40 and 70. Only 2 out of every 100,000 people will get the disease each year. Because it is not contagious, you can't catch ALS from someone who has the disease.

Among ALS cases in the United States, 5% to 10% are hereditary, which means the disease runs in certain families. This is called familial (say: fuh-mee-lee-ul) ALS. At least 90% of cases are not inherited; this is called sporadic (say: spuh-rah-dik) ALS.

How Is the Disease Diagnosed?

Lou Gehrig's disease doesn't always begin or become worse in the same way. The disease is different for every person who has it. In general, muscle weakness, especially in the arms and legs, is an early symptom for more than half of people with ALS. Other early signs are tripping or falling a lot, dropping things, having difficulty speaking, and cramping or twitching of the muscles. As the disease gets worse over time, eating, swallowing, and even breathing may become difficult.

It may take several months to know for sure that someone has Lou Gehrig's disease. The illness can cause symptoms similar to other diseases that affect nerves and muscles, including Parkinson's disease and stroke. A doctor will examine the patient and do special tests to see if it might be one of those other disorders. (It's like using the process of elimination to figure out the answer to a multiple-choice question on a test.)

One of the tests, an electromyogram (say: eh-lek-tro-my-uh-gram), or EMG, can show that muscles are not working because of damaged nerves. Other tests include X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a spinal tap, and blood and urine evaluations. Sometimes a muscle or nerve biopsy is needed. A biopsy is when a doctor takes a tiny sample of tissue from the body to study under a microscope. Examining this tissue can help the doctor figure out what's making someone sick.

How Is the Disease Treated?

Currently, there's no way to prevent or cure Lou Gehrig's disease, but a number of treatments are available to people with the disease. Medicines can control symptoms, such as muscle cramping and difficulty swallowing, and other drugs can slow the development of the disease.

Physical therapy can help people with ALS cope with muscle loss and breathing problems. Special equipment is also provided when it becomes necessary. For instance, a power wheelchair can enable a paralyzed person with ALS to get around. A machine called a ventilator (say: ven-til-ay-ter) can help a someone breathe.

In addition, a nurse or other health assistant may come to the person's home to provide care that the family cannot handle alone. It's normal for family members to feel upset, overwhelmed, and sad if a loved one has ALS. Counseling, as well as support from other family members and friends, can make it easier to deal with the challenges they face.

What's Life Like for Someone With Lou Gehrig's Disease?

According to the ALS Association, about half of all people with ALS live at least 3 years after they find out they have the disease, and 20% (or 1 in five) live 5 years or more. As many as 10% will survive more than 10 years.

Stephen Hawking has been living with Lou Gehrig's disease for about 40 years — ever since his diagnosis at age 21. He is the most famous long-term survivor of the disease. Born in England, Hawking is a famous physicist who furthered our understanding of the universe. He has written a lot of books, including the bestseller A Brief History of Time. He has done these things despite being confined to a wheelchair for more than 20 years, being able to move only a few fingers, and needing a voice synthesizer and special computer to speak and write.

Hawking, who has a wife and three children, once said, "The prospect of a short life made me want to do more. I realized life was good, and there was a great deal I wanted to do."

Living with Lou Gehrig's disease is physically difficult, but it is reassuring to know that the mind is not affected. People with the disease can think as clearly as ever, are able to maintain relationships with friends and family, and should be treated respectfully and normally. Communication can be difficult because the disease affects the person's breathing and the muscles needed for speech and arm movement. With patience, the families of patients with ALS can learn to communicate effectively with their loved one.

Researchers continue to study ALS as they try to understand why it happens, and how the disease damages the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. As they learn more about the disease, researchers can continue to develop new and better treatments.

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Alzheimer

Forgetting stuff is a part of life and it often becomes more common as people age.

But Alzheimer (say: alts-hi-mer) disease, which affects some older people, is different from everyday forgetting. It is a condition that permanently affects the brain, and over time, makes it harder to remember even basic stuff, like how to tie a shoe.

Eventually, the person may have trouble remembering the names and faces of family members - or even who he or she is. This can be very sad for the person and their families. It's important to know that Alzheimer disease does not affect kids. It usually affects people over 65 years of age. Researchers have found medicines that seem to slow the disease down. And there's hope that someday there will be a cure.

What Happens in the Brain?

You probably know that your brain works by sending signals. Chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters (say: nur-oh-trans-mih-terz), allow brain cells to communicate with each other. But a person with Alzheimer disease has decreased amounts of neurotransmitters. People with Alzheimer disease also develop deposits of stuff (protein and fiber) that prevent the cells from working properly. When this happens, the cells can't send the right signals to other parts of the brain. Over time, brain cells affected by Alzheimer disease also begin to shrink and die.

Lots of research is being done to find out more about the causes of Alzheimer disease. There is no one reason why people get Alzheimer disease. Older people are more likely to get it, and the risk gets greater the older the person gets. For instance, the risk is higher for someone who is 85 than it is for someone who is 65. And women are more likely to get it than men.

Researchers also think genes handed down from family members can make a person more likely to get Alzheimer disease. But that doesn't mean everyone related to someone who has Alzheimer disease will get the disease. Other factors, combined with genes, may make it more likely that someone will get the disease. Some of them are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Down syndrome, or having a head injury.

On the positive side, researchers believe exercise, a healthy diet, and taking steps to keep your mind active (like doing crossword puzzles) may help delay the onset of Alzheimer disease.

How Do People Know They Have It?

The first sign of Alzheimer disease is a continuous pattern of forgetting things. This starts to affect a person's daily life. He or she may forget where the grocery store is or the names of family and friends. This stage of the disease may last for some time or quickly progress, causing memory loss and forgetfulness to get worse.

What Will the Doctor Do?

It can be hard for a doctor to diagnose Alzheimer disease because many of its symptoms (like memory problems) can be like those of other conditions affecting the brain. The doctor will talk to the patient, find out about any medical problems the person has, and will examine him or her.

The doctor can ask the person questions or have the person take a written test to see how well his or her memory is working. Doctors also can use medical tests (such as MRI or CT scans) to take a detailed picture of the brain. They can study these images and look for the deposits of proteins and fiber that are typical of Alzheimer disease.

Once a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer disease, the doctor may prescribe medicine to help with memory and thinking. The doctor also might give the person medicine for other problems, such as depression (sad feelings that last a long time). Unfortunately the medicines that the doctors have can't cure Alzheimer disease; they just help slow down the disease.

When Someone You Love Has Alzheimer Disease

You might feel sad or angry - or both - if someone you love has Alzheimer disease. You might feel nervous around the person, especially if he or she is having trouble remembering important things or can no longer take care of himself or herself.

You might not want to go visit the person, even though your mom or dad wants you to. You are definitely not alone in these feelings. Try talking with a parent or another trusted adult. Just saying what's on your mind may help you feel better. You also may learn that the adults in your life are having struggles of their own with the situation.

If you visit a loved one who has Alzheimer disease, try to be patient. He or she may have good days and bad days. It can be sad if you no longer are able to have fun in the same ways together. Maybe you and your grandmother liked to go to concerts. If that's no longer possible, maybe bring her some wonderful music on a CD and listen together. It's a way to show her that you care - and showing that love is important even if her memory is failing.

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Meningitis

What Is Meningitis?

The central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) is surrounded by cerebrospinal (say: suh-ree-bro-spy-nul) fluid. This fluid acts to cushion and protect the central nervous system when you move around. Even more protection is given by the meninges (say: muh-nin-jeez), which are the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.

Meningitis (say: men-un-jye-tus) is a disease involving inflammation (swelling), or irritation, of the meninges. There are different kinds of meningitis, but most of the time it is caused by germs, especially viruses.

Meningitis gets attention because it not only makes a person feel sick, it can have lasting effects on a person's ability to think and learn. It also can cause hearing loss. But many people recover from the infection without permanent damage. And the illness is so rare, you may never know anyone who gets it.

How Does Someone Get Meningitis?

The body has natural defenses against infections — and usually even if someone comes across a virus or bacteria that can cause meningitis, the body can fight it off. Everyone has lots of germs living on and in their bodies. Most of the time, these germs don't cause any illness. In fact, some of them, like some of the bacteria normally found in the intestines, help the body to work properly. However, some germs do cause infections.

If a person gets an infection, the body's immune system will go to work to fight it. That's why you might feel sick one day, but then you start to feel better. The immune system is doing its job.

Some germs, however, are tricky. They can outsmart the body's defenses and spread inside of the body. Some of these germs can even invade the central nervous system, infecting the meninges and causing meningitis.

Bacteria and Viruses

Many viruses can cause viral meningitis. They include a family of viruses known as enteroviruses (say: en-teh-row-vye-rus-ez). Like most viruses, enteroviruses infect your body through saliva (spit), feces (poop), and nasal discharge (snot). This is why washing your hands after you go to the bathroom, after you sneeze, and before you eat is so important.

It's also possible to get viral meningitis as a complication of chickenpox, but this is also very rare in healthy kids. These days, many kids are vaccinated with two shots to prevent chickenpox before starting school.

Bacterial meningitis is contagious, which means it can be passed to someone else by spit or snot. It can be spread when you sneeze or cough, when you share cups or utensils, or when you kiss someone. Vaccines are given to kids to help protect them from serious diseases like meningitis.

What Are the Symptoms of Meningitis?

Usually, someone with meningitis is very sick. Symptoms may include:

• a very bad headache that won't go away
• neck stiffness
• back stiffness
• eye pain or irritation when exposed to light
• nausea, or being sick to the stomach
• vomiting, or throwing up
• body aches
• fever
• feeling very sleepy or unable to fully wake up
• feeling very confused or out of it

Symptoms of meningitis can come on very quickly or take a couple of days to appear. Anyone who is ill with symptoms of meningitis needs to seek medical care right away.

What Will the Doctor Do?

When someone is ill and may have symptoms of meningitis, a doctor will ask many questions to figure out how long the person has been sick and what may have caused the illness. The doctor will do a complete physical examination and if he or she suspects that meningitis might be causing a person's illness, a spinal tap is usually done.

A spinal tap allows the doctor to collect some of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. During a spinal tap, a person usually lies on his or her side curled into a ball. First, the doctor will numb the skin with medication. (This is done to prevent pain.)

The person needs to lie very still while the doctor inserts a very thin needle into the spinal column. The needle is placed between two vertebral bones in the lower back away from the spinal cord. Fluid is removed and collected in some tubes. Then the needle is removed and the doctor puts a bandage over the area.

After it is collected, the spinal fluid will be examined under a microscope to see if any bacteria, cells, or substances that indicate inflammation or infection are there. Usually by looking at the spinal fluid in this way, a doctor will be able to tell if it seems like someone has meningitis. The fluid will also be sent to a laboratory to be tested for bacteria and sometimes for viruses. Once the doctors know what germ is causing the meningitis, they can choose the best medicine to treat the infection. Treatment depends on the type of meningitis.

Bacterial meningitis is very serious and a person will need to be in the hospital during treatment. Strong antibiotic medicine will be given through an IV (a thin tube that goes into a vein to give medicine) to get rid of the bacteria. Fluids containing glucose (sugar) and minerals may also be given through the IV to help a person recover.

Viral meningitis can also be serious, but usually is not as bad as meningitis caused by bacteria. A person with viral meningitis may still need to be in the hospital for a few days and it may take weeks before he or she is feeling better. Antibiotics do not work against viruses, so a person with viral meningitis will need lots of rest to fight off the infection.

Can Meningitis Be Prevented?

If someone gets bacterial meningitis in your neighborhood or school, doctors will want to know who was in close contact with this person. Close contact means living with or spending a lot of time with the person, or sharing the same utensils or cups. This is important because people who have been in close contact should take antibiotics for a few days, just in case they were infected with the bacteria, too. The medicine can help prevent them from developing meningitis. But that won't prevent sickness if a virus caused the meningitis.

If you've had all your vaccinations, they will help protect you from getting meningitis. But there's another way to prevent those germs from getting inside your body: Wash your hands. Wash up regularly with warm, soapy water — especially before eating, after using the bathroom, and whenever your hands are dirty. It's also smart to cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Then — you guessed it — wash your hands!

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Impetigo

If you have a cut or scrape or if you scratch your skin because of a bug bite, eczema, or poison ivy, germs may find a way to get inside. Once inside, the bacteria cause small blisters to develop on the skin. These blisters burst and ooze fluid that crusts over, a condition called impetigo. Sometimes impetigo is called "school sores" because so many school-age kids get it. Kids seem to get it more than adults do, but impetigo can affect anyone.

What Causes Impetigo?

We all have bacteria living on our skin and in our nose, but most of the time they don't cause any trouble. Two types of bacteria can cause impetigo: Group A streptococcus (say strep-toe-kah-kus) and Staphylococcus aureus (say: stah-fih-lo-kah-kus or-ee-us). It doesn't matter which bacteria caused your impetigo, the treatment will be similar (almost the same).

How Do I Know if I Have It?

Impetigo usually starts as small blisters that quickly burst and ooze fluid that crusts over. The crust is yellow-brown, or honey-colored, making impetigo look different than other scabs. In a less common kind of impetigo that affects babies and younger kids, the blisters are larger and take longer to burst. The fluid in these blisters may start out clear and then turn cloudy.

What Will the Doctor Do?

If you and your parents think you have impetigo, you should see a doctor. A doctor usually can tell if you have impetigo by examining your skin. If you have mild impetigo, your doctor probably will prescribe an antibiotic ointment. If the impetigo has spread to a lot of places or if the antibiotic ointment is not working, you may need to take an antibiotic as a pill or liquid for ten days. Remember: It's important to finish ALL of the medicine even if the spots clear up quickly.

What Can I Do?

Impetigo might itch, but you should try not to scratch or touch the sores. Touching them can spread the sores to other parts of your body or to someone else. If you do touch the area, be sure to wash your hands.

Your parent can help you apply the ointment or take the medicine your doctor prescribed. Your parent also can help you gently wash the infected areas with mild soap and water, using a piece of clean gauze. If a sore is very crusted, you can soak it in warm, soapy water to loosen the crust. You don't have to get it all off, but it's good to keep it clean. Your parent also might help you cover the sores with gauze and tape or a loose plastic bandage.

Impetigo is contagious, which means that you could spread it to other people. That's why someone with impetigo should stay home from school until they have used their medicine for about 24 hours. By then, the impetigo is no longer contagious. After 3 days, the sores should begin to heal.

Your parent should call the doctor if you develop a fever or if you don't get better after taking the medicine for a couple days. Your parents should call the doctor right away if skin around the impetigo sore becomes red, warm, swollen, or painful if you touch it.

How to Prevent Impetigo

If someone in your family or a friend has impetigo, don't touch their skin. Also steer clear of their clothes, towels, sheets, and pillows. The bacteria that cause impetigo can live on all these things. Your parent should wash these items in very hot water.

And here are some good habits that can help you avoid getting impetigo in the first place:

• Take a bath or shower regularly.
• Use soap to keep your skin clean.
• Watch out for skin that's scraped or irritated, like a mosquito bite. Keep those areas clean and covered.
• Wash your hands regularly with soap.
• Keep your nails short and clean.

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Osgood-Schlatter

Osgood-Schlatter (say: oz-good shlaw-ter) disease is one of the most common causes of knee pain in kids who play sports. Usually only one knee is affected, but both can be. There may be a slightly swollen, warm, and tender bony bump at the top of the lower leg, about 2 inches below the kneecap. The bump hurts when pressed. It also hurts when a kid kneels, jumps, runs, squats, or does anything that bends or fully extends the leg.

Just what causes the pain? First you have to know a little bit about how the knee is put together. The quadriceps tendon attaches the large, powerful quadriceps (say: kwad-rih-seps) muscle to the kneecap. Another tendon — the patellar (say: puh-teh-lur) tendon — attaches this big thigh muscle to the shin bone.

Your muscles and tendons work together when you move your legs. Someone who plays sports uses their knees and legs a lot. All this activity means the patellar tendon pulls at the attachment to the shin bone a lot. That's what causes the pain of Osgood-Schlatter disease.

Although boys are more likely to develop the condition, many girls involved in sports — like gymnastics or soccer — develop it, too. If your doctor suspects Osgood-Schlatter disease, he or she may arrange for X-rays of your knee just to make sure that there isn't another problem. Your doctor also might send you to an orthopedist (say: or-tho-pee-dist), a doctor specially trained to understand bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles.

If it's Osgood-Schlatter, resting the knee may be helpful in getting the pain to settle down. Applying ice directly to the painful area after vigorous activities can help, and your mom or dad may also give you pain-relieving medicine, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Learning how to properly stretch your hamstring and quadriceps muscles is also an important part of the treatment of this condition. With rest, stretching, and time, the pain usually goes away. Kids with Osgood-Schlatter don't have to give up sports, but they may have to limit their activities for a few weeks or months until the pain improves.

Now for the really important question: Who in the heck are Osgood and Schlatter? Robert Bayley Osgood, a U.S. orthopedist, and Carl Schlatter, a Swiss surgeon, were the two doctors who described this knee problem in 1903. For their good work, the condition was named after them and a little knee condition got a very big name!

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Stroke

A stroke can happen if something keeps the blood from flowing as it should. A person might have a clogged blood vessel, so the blood can't get through. Or a blood vessel may burst and a part of the brain is suddenly flooded with blood. Either way, with a stroke, brain cells die because they don't get the oxygen they need.

There are two main types of strokes:

• Ischemic (say: iss-kee-mik) strokes happen when a blood vessel going to the brain becomes blocked, and the blood can't get where it's supposed to be. This type of stroke is the most common. A blood clot - a clump of blood that sticks together - is usually to blame for ischemic strokes. They can also happen when arteries become narrow and clogged with plaque. Plaque is a mix of cholesterol and other fatty stuff that sticks to the walls of blood vessels.
• Hemorrhagic (say: heh-muh-rah-jik) strokes happen when a weak or thin blood vessel bursts and the blood spills out, killing brain cells and affecting how the brain works. High blood pressure can weaken the walls of vessels and make a hemorrhagic stroke much more likely.

There are also "mini strokes" called transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). These are not full-blown stokes because the blood flow is only cut off for a short amount of time and they don't cause the same kind of damage right away, however, they are a warning sign that something is wrong and that a real stroke may be on its way. Strokes are serious. People who have strokes can get really sick, have brain damage, or die. But many people recover from strokes, especially if they know the warning signs and can get help quickly.

What Happens During a Stroke?

A stroke usually happens suddenly, and a person having a stroke has several of these signs:

• numbness or weakness on one side of the body
• a very bad headache
• dizziness
• loss of balance or coordination
• trouble talking or understanding what people are saying
• trouble seeing

Anyone who has even one of these symptoms should get to the hospital right away. The first thing a doctor will do is make sure the person is not in immediate danger, like making sure he or she can breathe. Next, the doctor will want to figure out what's causing this problem. The doctor can run tests on the heart and brain.

If it looks like a stroke, doctors usually get a CT scan, a special kind of X-ray of the brain. This test can show the doctor what part of the brain has been affected and how big the stroke is.

How Does a Person Get Better?

Recovering from a stroke can happen quickly or can take a long time. How soon someone gets better depends on how bad the stroke was and how healthy the person was before the stroke.

People who have had a stroke may need medicine or surgery. Later, they may need rehabilitation (say: ree-huh-bih-luh-tay-shun). Treatment for a stroke will depend on what caused it.

Medicine: For a stroke caused by a clogged blood vessel (ischemic), the doctor might give the person medicine that thins the blood and keeps it from clotting too much. There's even "clot-busting" medicine that can break up a blood clot. This medicine is given through an IV and works best if it is given very quickly.

Surgery: Doctors may do surgery to open up a clogged blood vessel to help prevent another stroke later on. If a person has had a hemorrhagic stroke, surgery may be needed to remove blood clots or fix weak blood vessels.

Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation, or rehab, means the person needs to relearn basic things, like walking, talking, writing, or taking care of themselves. They may need speech therapy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy.

If Someone You Love Has a Stroke

It can be scary if someone you care about has a stroke. But strokes can be big or small. A small one may not cause too much damage and the person may get back to normal quickly.

But a major stroke can cause big problems with important stuff, like walking and talking. With a major stroke, the person may spend a lot of time in the hospital. Once the person is home, he or she may need special care, therapy, medicine, and a lot of doctor visits. In some cases, the person may have lasting problems with important skills, like walking or talking.

But often, people are able to relearn the important skills they lost. It may take time and patience, though. So if you know someone who has had a stroke, encourage them to keep on doing the hard work necessary to regain these skills.

It's also important for you to talk with someone if you have questions or worries about someone who has had a stroke. You might feel sad, frustrated, or angry that this happened to someone you love, especially if this person isn't able to do stuff with you like before. It's also normal for the person who had a stroke to feel frustrated and upset, especially if he or she has to learn something as basic as feeding himself or herself. It can make the person feel less independent.

Preventing Strokes

Some strokes can be prevented in adults. Here are some stroke-prevention tips for grown-ups:

• Don't smoke.
• Don't drink too much alcohol.
• Eat healthy and be active. This can help lower cholesterol.
• Check blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major cause of stroke.
• Don't ignore problems like heart disease, high cholesterol, or diabetes.

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Drinking Water

How Important Is Water?

Without water, your body would stop working properly. Water makes up more than half of your body weight and a person can't survive for more than a few days without it. Why? Your body has lots of important jobs and it needs water to do many of them. For instance, your blood, which contains a lot of water, carries oxygen to all the cells of your body. Without oxygen, those tiny cells would die and your body would stop working.

Water is also in lymph (say: limf), a fluid that is part of your immune system, which helps you fight off illness. You need water to digest your food and get rid of waste, too. Water is needed for digestive juices, urine (pee), and poop. And you can bet that water is the main ingredient in perspiration, also called sweat.

In addition to being an important part of the fluids in your body, each cell depends on water to function normally.

Your body doesn't get water only from drinking water. Any fluid you drink will contain water, but water and milk are the best choices. Lots of foods contain water, too. Fruit contains quite a bit of water, which you could probably tell if you've ever bitten into a peach or plum and felt the juices dripping down your chin! Vegetables, too, contain a lot of water. Think of slicing into a fat tomato from the garden or crunching into a crisp stalk of celery.

How Much Is Enough?

Since water is so important, you might wonder if you're drinking enough. There is no magic amount of water that kids need to drink every day. Usually, kids like to drink something with meals and should definitely drink when they are thirsty. But when it's warm out, or you're exercising, you'll need more. Be sure to drink some extra water when you're out in warm weather, especially while playing sports or exercising.

When you drink is also important. If you're going to sports practice, a game, or just working out or playing hard, drink water before, during, and after playing. Don't forget your water bottle. You can't play your best when you're thinking about how thirsty you are!

When your body doesn't have enough water, that's called being dehydrated. Dehydration also can keep you from being as fast and as sharp as you'd like to be. A bad case of dehydration can make you sick. So keep that water bottle handy when the weather warms up! Not only does water fight dehydration, but it's awfully refreshing and has no calories.

Your body can help you stay properly hydrated by regulating the amount of water in your system. The body can hold on to water when you don't have enough or get rid of it if you have too much. If your pee has ever been very light yellow, your body might have been getting rid of excess water. When your pee is very dark yellow, it's holding on to water, so it's probably time to drink up.

You can help your body by drinking when you're thirsty and drinking extra water when it's warm out. Your body will be able to do all of its wonderful, waterful jobs and you'll feel great!

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E.Coli

E. coli is a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef and vegetables. E. coli is short for the medical term Escherichia coli. The strange thing about these bacteria — and lots of other bacteria — is that they're not always harmful to you.

E. coli normally lives inside your intestines, where it helps your body break down and digest the food you eat. Unfortunately, certain types (called strains) of E. coli can get from the intestines into the blood. This is a rare illness, but it can cause a very serious infection.

Someone who has E. coli infection may have these symptoms:

• bad stomach cramps and belly pain
• vomiting
• diarrhea, sometimes with blood in it

One very bad strain of E. coli was found in fresh spinach in 2006 and some fast-food hamburgers in 1993. Beef can contain E. coli because the bacteria often infect cattle. It can be in meat that comes from cattle and it's also in their poop, called manure. Cow poop in your food? How does that happen? Not on purpose, of course, but it can happen if the manure is used for fertilizer (a common practice to help crops grow) or if water contaminated with E. coli is used to irrigate the crops.

Foods to Watch

E. coli can be passed from person to person, but serious E. coli infection is more often linked to food containing the bacteria. The person eats the contaminated food and gets sick.

Here are some foods that can cause E. coli poisoning:

• undercooked ground beef (used for hamburgers)
• vegetables grown in cow manure or washed in contaminated water
• fruit juice that isn't pasteurized (pasteurization is a process that uses heat to kill germs)

Heat can kill E. coli, so experts recommend that people cook beef (especially ground beef) until it is cooked through and no longer pink. Choosing pasteurized juice is another way to avoid possible infection.

Lastly, some experts recommend washing and scrubbing vegetables before eating them. But others say E. coli is hard to remove once it has contaminated produce, such as spinach, lettuce, or onions. The solution, they say, is to take more steps so that E. coli doesn't come in contact with crops.

What Will the Doctor Do?

If someone has symptoms of E. coli poisoning, the doctor will run some blood tests and take a sample of the person's stool (poop). The blood and stool can be checked to see if a harmful strain of E. coli is present. Even though diarrhea is one of the main symptoms, the person shouldn't take anti-diarrhea medicines because they can slow down recovery time.

Some people recover at home, while others need to be in the hospital. In some cases, E. coli poisoning can cause life-threatening kidney problems.

What Can Kids Do?

Adults are the main people in charge of preventing E. coli infection by serving well-cooked meat, cleaning countertops when preparing meats, and being aware of any recalls affecting contaminated vegetables or other products.

But kids can help, too. Here are three ways:

1. When you're at a restaurant, order your burger well done. Eat it only if it's brown, not pink, on the inside.
2. Don't swallow lake, ocean, or pool water. If the water contains any human waste, it can carry the E. coli bacteria.
3. Always wash your hands after you use the bathroom and before you eat. There are plenty of bacteria in your poop. Gross! You don't want to accidentally eat some of those bad bacteria!

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Autism

What Does Autism Mean?

Autism (say: aw-tih-zum) causes kids to experience the world differently from the way most other kids do. It's hard for kids with autism to talk with other people and express themselves using words. Kids who have autism usually keep to themselves and many can't communicate without special help.

They also may react to what's going on around them in unusual ways. Normal sounds may really bother someone with autism — so much so that the person covers his or her ears. Being touched, even in a gentle way, may feel uncomfortable.

Kids with autism often can't make connections that other kids make easily. For example, when someone smiles, you know the smiling person is happy or being friendly. But a kid with autism may have trouble connecting that smile with the person's happy feelings.

A kid who has autism also has trouble linking words to their meanings. Imagine trying to understand what your mom is saying if you didn't know what her words really mean. It is doubly frustrating then if a kid can't come up with the right words to express his or her own thoughts.

Autism causes kids to act in unusual ways. They might flap their hands, say certain words over and over, have temper tantrums, or play only with one particular toy. Most kids with autism don't like changes in routines. They like to stay on a schedule that is always the same. They also may insist that their toys or other objects be arranged a certain way and get upset if these items are moved or disturbed.

If someone has autism, his or her brain has trouble with an important job: making sense of the world. Every day, your brain interprets the sights, sounds, smells, and other sensations that you experience. If your brain couldn't help you understand these things, you would have trouble functioning, talking, going to school, and doing other everyday stuff. Kids can be mildly affected by autism, so that they only have a little trouble in life, or they can be very affected, so that they need a lot of help.

What Causes Autism?

Autism affects about 1 in every 150 kids, but no one knows what causes it. Some scientists think that some kids might be more likely to get autism because it or similar disorders run in their families. Knowing the exact cause of autism is hard because the human brain is very complicated.

The brain contains over 100 billion nerve cells called neurons (say: nur-ahns). Each neuron may have hundreds or thousands of connections that carry messages to other nerve cells in the brain and body. The connections and the chemical messengers they send (called neurotransmitters) let the neurons that help you see, feel, move, remember, and work together as they should.

For some reason, some of the cells and connections in the brain of a kid with autism — especially those that affect communication, emotions, and senses — don't develop properly or get damaged. Scientists are still trying to understand how and why this happens.

What Do Doctors Do?

Figuring out if a kid has autism can be difficult. A parent is usually the first to suspect that something is wrong. Maybe the kid is old enough to speak but doesn't, doesn't seem interested in people, or behaves in other unusual ways. But autism isn't the only problem that can cause these kinds of symptoms. For example, kids who have hearing problems might have trouble speaking, too.

Usually, the results of lab tests and other medical tests are normal in kids with autism, but doctors may do them to make sure the kid doesn't have other problems. These medical tests can include blood and urine tests, a hearing exam, an EEG (a test to measure brain waves), and an MRI (a picture that shows the structure of the brain). Intelligence (IQ) tests also might be done.

Often, specialists work together as a team to figure out what is wrong. The team might include a pediatrician, a pediatric neurologist, a pediatric developmentalist, a child psychiatrist, a child psychologist, speech and language therapists, and others. The team members study how the child plays, learns, communicates, and behaves. The team listens carefully to what parents have noticed, too. Using the information they've gathered, doctors can decide whether a child has autism or another problem.

How Is Autism Treated?

There is no cure for autism, but doctors, therapists, and special teachers can help kids with autism overcome or adjust to many difficulties. The earlier a kid starts treatment for autism, the better.

Different kids need different kinds of help, but learning how to communicate is always an important first step. Spoken language can be hard for kids with autism to learn. Most understand words better by seeing them, so therapists teach them how to communicate by pointing or using pictures or sign language. That makes learning other things easier, and eventually, many kids with autism learn to talk.

Therapists also help kids learn social skills, such as how to greet people, wait for a turn, and follow directions. Some kids need special help with living skills (like brushing teeth or making a bed). Others have trouble sitting still or controlling their tempers and need therapy to help them control their behavior. Some kids take medications to help their moods and behavior, but there's no medicine that will make a kid's autism go away.

Students with mild autism sometimes can go to regular school. But most kids with autism need calmer, more orderly surroundings. They also need teachers trained to understand the problems they have with communicating and learning. They may learn at home or in special classes at public or private schools.

Living With Autism

Some kids with mild autism will grow up and be able to live on their own. Those with more serious problems will always need some kind of help. But all kids with autism have brighter futures when they have the support and understanding of doctors, teachers, caregivers, parents, brothers, sisters, and friends.

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Coma

What do you think about when you hear the word coma (say: ko-muh)? Does it make you think of someone in a deep sleep, or the way you feel after eating too much Thanksgiving turkey? Does the word remind you of a TV soap opera, where it seems that at least one character is always in a coma?

A coma can be difficult to understand, especially because people sometimes jokingly use the words coma and comatose (say: ko-muh-tohss), which means in a coma or coma-like state) to describe people who aren't paying attention or who are drowsy or sleeping. But a coma is a serious condition that has nothing to do with sleep.

What Happens When Someone Is in a Coma?
If someone is in a coma, he is unconscious and will not respond to voices, other sounds, or any sort of activity going on around him. He is still alive, but his brain is functioning at its lowest stage of alertness. You can't shake and wake up someone who is in a coma like you can someone who has just fallen asleep.

What Can Cause a Coma?
Comas can be caused by different things, including:

• a severe injury to the head that hurts the brain
• seizures
• infections involving the brain
• brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen for too long
• an overdose (taking too much) of medicine or other drugs
• a stroke

When one of these things happens, it can mess up how the brain's cells work. This can hurt the parts of the brain that make someone conscious, and if those parts stop working, the person will stay unconscious.

How Do People Take Care of Someone in a Coma?

A person in a coma usually needs to be cared for in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital. There, he can get extra care and attention from doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff. They make sure the person gets fluids, nutrients, and any medicines he needs to keep his body as healthy as possible. These are sometimes given through a tiny plastic tube inserted in a vein or through a feeding tube that brings fluids and nutrients directly to the stomach.

Sometimes a comatose person is unable to breathe on his own and needs the help of a ventilator (say: ven-tih-lay-ter), a machine that pumps air into the lungs through a tube placed in the person's windpipe. The hospital staff also tries to prevent bedsores in someone who is comatose. Bedsores are open sores on the body that come from lying in one place for too long without moving at all.

It can be very upsetting and frustrating for a person's family to see someone they love in a coma, and they may feel scared and helpless. But there are things they can do to help take care of the person. Taking time to visit the hospital and read to, talk to, and even play music for the patient are important because it's possible that the person may be able to hear what's going on around him, even if he can't respond.

What Happens After a Coma?
Usually, a coma does not last more than a few weeks. Sometimes, however, a person stays in a coma for a long time - even years - and will be able to do very little except breathe on his own.

Most people do come out of comas, however. Some of them are able to return to the normal lives they had before they got sick. On TV, someone in a coma usually wakes up right away, looks around, and is able to think and talk normally. But in real life, this rarely happens. When a person comes out of a coma, he will often be confused and can only slowly respond to what's going on around him. It will take time for him to start feeling better.

Whether someone fully returns to normal after being in a coma depends on what caused the coma and how badly the brain may have been hurt. Sometimes people who come out of comas are just as they were before - they can remember what happened to them before the coma and can do everything they used to do. Other people may need therapy to relearn basic things like tying their shoes, eating with a fork or spoon, or learning to walk all over again. They may also have problems with speaking or remembering things.

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