Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Health Tips for December 18

Health Tip: Make Exercise Fun

Getting young children to exercise is easier if you keep it entertaining, fun and interesting.

The Nemours Foundations offers these suggestions to make exercise more enjoyable:

* Keep your child busy by asking her to hunt for things such as animals, items of a certain color, or objects of a certain shape.
* Sing while you walk or exercise, or say a nursery rhyme or tell a story together.
* Don't just walk -- skip, hop, jump, race and walk backwards.
* Encourage your child to learn while exercising. Have her count how many things she sees, and identify shapes and colors.

Health Tip: Cuticle Care

The tearing of a hangnail, or other cuts and tears in the sensitive skin around the fingernails or toenails, can trigger an infection.

Here are suggestions reduce your risk, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:

* Do not pick at your nails and avoid cutting the cuticles.
* Push cuticles back from the nail gently, using a sterile instrument.
* Never pull a hangnail.
* Wear gloves if you are performing an activity that may cut or scratch your fingers.
* See your doctor about a diabetes screening if you get frequent nail infections.

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