US Clinicals

Many parents are concerned when their children tend to avoid certain food items. These children are known as “picky eaters”, but this does not always correlate to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Before considering supplementing the child’ diet with a multivitamin tablet, it will be important to seek a medical opinion to see if the child has a nutritional deficiency. For children with restricted diets like those with allergies, intolerances and vegan or plant-based diets, nutritional deficiency is more commonly seen.

It is indeed wise to use supplements for persons with special nutritional requirements, e. g. pregnant women, children, people with anorexia nervosa. To explain further, pregnant women need to take folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. For most people, it is important to have a balanced, healthy diet and supplements may be used to complement (not to replace) a person’s nutrient needs. Some people believe that as we derive nutrients throughout the day from food, having our nutrition supplements at night helps our body get some nutrition as we sleep.

Hi Both work in different ways, Vitamin C tends to provide more generalised improvements in immunity whereas probiotics are more focussed on gut health. Both are useful to maintain your immunity and health.

There are many ways we can understand this question. Firstly from the legal aspect, as of 20 April 2020, we are still allowed to participate in recreational activities in parks like walking and running. But remember to wear a mask (unless your kid is 2 years old, then it's not needed as of now). But be mindful, the government can change this law at the drop of a hat. Secondly medically speaking, the risk is low as long as you maintain the social distancing rules and you maintain good hand hygiene while outside. Once you return home, immediately go and bathe.

Probiotics, in general, help to regulate the types of microbes in our intestines. By doing so, they may help to provide relief in symptoms such as loose stools, bloating and cramps. They are also believed to have effects on our gut immune system. Although there are reports on the use of probiotics for children with constipation and bloating, probiotics mainly serve as an additional tool to help these conditions. Established traditional methods including adequate water and fibre consumption as well as regular exercise may prove to be more effective and sustainable in the long run.

Main types of arthritis in the hand Arthritis in the hand can be categorised into 2 main types: Degenerative or osteoarthritis inflammatory arthritis such as psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis and gouty arthritis Of the two, degenerative or osteoarthritis is the more common type. Osteoarthritis is simply the premature wear of the cartilage surfaces in a joint and can be primary or secondary. Primary causes of osteoarthritis can be either from age-related degeneration or excessive wear and tear from repeated overuse of the particular joint.

A Fall On an OutStretched Hand (FOOSH) can cause significant injury to the wrist. These injuries can cause radial-sided (the side nearer the thumb) and/or ulnar-sided (the side nearer the little finger) wrist pain.

Presentation of finger joint pains on exertion and repetitive movements in a young patient is getting more common. A full assessment has to be made to rule out the causes of joint pain: Full history, including family history of arthritis and autoimmune disorders, a detailed clinical examination, X-rays, other imaging modalities such as ultrasound or MRI scans, blood tests to screen for gout, autoimmune disorders and chronic inflammatory conditions. It will be ordered accordingly based on the clinical judgment of the doctor.

From what I understand, your father has had toe joint pain for 3 months. There are quite a few questions I would like to further ask, to help come up with a possible diagnosis. I assume there was no traumatic episode? and that the pain gradually developed over this time? Which toe is involved? is it the whole toe or one or more of the joints? Any associated foot or ankle pain as well? When does the pain happen? All the time? or with activity only? What kind of activities will cause the pain?