Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Bones Grow

When you were a baby, you had tiny hands, tiny feet, and tiny everything! Slowly,as you grew older, everything became a bit bigger, including your bones.

A baby's body has about 300 bones at birth. These eventually fuseto form the 206 bones that adults have. Some of a baby's bones are made entirely of a special material called cartilage Other bones in a baby are partly made of cartilage. This cartilage is soft and flexible.

During childhood, as you are growing, the cartilage grows and is slowly replaced by bone, with help from calcium.

By the time you are about 25, this process will be complete. After this happens, there can be no more growth — the bones are as big as they will ever be. All of these bones make up a skeleton that is both very strong and very light.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Medicaid

Medicaid is government health insurance that helps many low-income people in the United States to pay their medical bills. Although the Federal government establishes general guidelines for the program, each state has its own rules. Your state might require you to pay a small part of the cost for some medical services.

You have to meet certain requirements to be eligible for Medicaid. These might involve

  • Your age

  • Whether you are pregnant, disabled or blind

  • Your income and resources

  • Whether or not you are a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant.

  • Wednesday, February 11, 2009

    Measles

    Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily from person to person. The main symptom of measles is an itchy skin rash. The rash often starts on the head and moves down the body. Other symptoms include

    * Fever
    * Cough
    * Runny nose
    * Conjunctivitis (pink eye)

    Sometimes measles can lead to serious problems. There is no treatment for measles, but the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine can prevent it. You may have heard of "German measles", also known as rubella, which is a different illness altogether.

    Wednesday, February 4, 2009

    Radiation Emergencies

    Radiation is a type of energy. People are exposed to small amounts of radiation every day from sources such as sunlight. A radiation emergency would involve larger amounts of radiation and could be caused by

    * Dirty bombs - a mix of explosives with radioactive powder
    * Fallout from a nuclear bomb
    * Accidental release from a nuclear reactor or a nuclear weapons plant.

    A lot of radiation over a short period can cause burns or radiation sickness. If the exposure is large enough, it can cause premature aging or even death.

    Although there are no guarantees of safety during a radiation emergency, you can take actions to protect yourself. You should have a disaster plan. Being prepared can help reduce fear, anxiety and losses.