The disease is named for the characteristic sound of a whoop produced when affected individuals attempt to inhale; the whoop originates from the inflammation and swelling of the airways. Once the airways swell up, they become narrower than usual. As a result, the breathing becomes difficult, which causes the ‘whoop’ sound as you gasp for-breath after…

Parents’ main goal is to ensure that their children are healthy and safe. That is why, being primary care providers, they do their best to achieve the objective. But parents cannot be there all day to protect their children. They delegate the responsibility to other caregivers, mostly nannies and teachers. But are our schools safe for…

In their curiosity, children tend to sniff around their habitat to discover the hidden wonders.Unfortunately, this can cause them to stumble upon dangerous substances during these wonder expeditions; followed by the unspeakable ingestion. The good news is that the most commonly consumed substances are not lethal. But research shows that poisoning is one of the leading…

Do’s and don’ts  Physician and philosopher Hippocrates of Cos said teething infants, especially the first tooth, experience symptoms like fever, diarrhoea and itching of gums. All the way through the end of the 19th Century, teething was considered the number one cause of death of infants. This was treated through leeches, mercury-based powders and pricking of the gum. Apparently, the deaths…

My mom pretended to prepare lunch in the kitchen. ‘What do you see in your future? Say five years from now?’ Laura, then my girlfriend, asked. ‘I haven’t planned that far ahead,’ I responded. ‘What about marriage?’ ‘What about it?’ ‘Don’t you want to get married and have kids?’ ‘I don’t want to have any…

We know them by their colour and shape, and whether they are eaten raw or cooked, they are undeniably, a delicacy. While many of us eat them for their nutritive value, others simply like their taste. Bananas are good for babies too and are in fact among the first solid foods given to infants. Bananas…

An eerie pink crayon sketch of Winnie dangles among her teddy bears in her crib. Her parents haven’t seen the 5 year-old since that fateful Sunday morning when she wondered off—or so they think, from Sunday school in the vast Embakasi Estate of Nairobi. As evening approached, the horrific realization sunk in: Their daughter, the…

Your heat beats 101,000 times a day. During your lifetime, it will beat about 3 billion times and pump about 800 million pints (378 million litres) of blood. A normal heart beats 70 to 80 times a minute. Over 70 and 80 years, it gives a few billion beats. It is the powerful machine inside…