After I purchased a home and settled down in a city, I realized that my local elections mattered more than ever. In addition to dictating my property taxes and the overall health of our city roads, those elections might also determine the quality of the city website, irrigation system, and even our water rights for the year. Instead of simply ignoring the elections and focusing on my personal life, I started analyzing the local politics and reading up on the candidates. It took a lot of work, but eventually I felt comfortable with my choice of candidate. I want others to understand local elections, which is why this entire blog is about government and politics.
Understanding Local Elections
Typical Childhood Pain Or Something More Serious? What You Should Know
Brooke Payne
Kids are, by nature, active, rambunctious, and accident-prone. As a result, most parents of young kids are used to hearing complaints of a sore joint or a painful limb periodically. The active nature of kids can make it hard for parents to know when a complaint of joint or limb pain is just a typical injury and when it's something that warrants a doctor's attention. Here's a look at a few things that you should know.
Repeated, Persistent, Or Chronic Complaints
Complaining about a sore wrist or knee for a couple of days is typical for kids, especially if they strained it or otherwise injured it a little bit while they were playing. However, if you find that complaints persist for more than a few days, seem to be chronic, or are intense, it's in your best interest to have your child seen at the local medical clinic.
Obvious Favoring Of Joints
Whether your child is walking with a limp, avoiding walking, or going out of their way not to use one hand, any obvious favoring of a joint is a cause for concern. Especially with young children, it can be difficult to identify some of these actions, so make a point to watch your child play frequently. Is he or she using both hands equally? Are there any obvious alterations to their movement that could indicate that something hurts or is weak? Your observations will be key in this case.
Swelling And Inflammation
When there's visible swelling, redness, and heat surrounding a joint, that's an indication of inflammation and an injury of some sort. You can help soothe inflammation with ice treatments while you wait for the doctor, but you'll want to call the local medical clinic right away to have this assessed for the root cause. The doctor can determine the source of the inflammation and recommend the proper treatment to help your child heal.
It's important that you don't ignore these signs for many reasons. While most injuries and complaints of pain from children are mild and are just the result of aggressive play, there are sometimes more sinister causes. Everything from growing pains to juvenile arthritis, as well as sprains, dislocations, and even viral or bacterial infections like meningitis can cause pain like this. Additionally, leukemia and other forms of cancer can cause the same thing. Knowing the warning signs to watch for is important. Call the medical clinic right away if you're noticing these signs so that your child's doctor can determine the cause.
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