My heart almost skips a beat on hearing Tom’s voice on the other end of the line. ‘Why are you using Meg’s phone, is she okay?’ I ask Tom as I sip my cup of coffee. It is the morning after the news of Megan’s HIV status and I am afraid she could have done…

Causes and prevention Hay fever, also medically known as Allergic Rhinitis (AR) is an allergic inflammation of the nasal ways. Like all allergic reactions, it is caused by allergens, a foreign invader that enters the body by inhalation, swallowing or through skin. In Hay fever, the allergens are airborne substances that enter the airways (mouth, nose, throat and lungs) through breathing…

You often hear people saying they are allergic to dust. But did you know that it’s hardly dust they are allergic to? Allergies are caused by tiny dust mites that you cannot see with your naked eye. Dust mites settle on carpets, curtains and cuddly toys and other house furnishing. But their favourite places are beds, where you mostly…

When you take your bundle of joy home from the hospital, it is inevitable you will not do everything right. Paediatricians were asked about the five most common mistakes parents make with their newborns. Here were their responses: Letting a newborn sleep through the night. ‘One of the things that make me cringe is when parents say to me, ‘The first night…

Why is it mandatory? As a single, working mother. Angela* would leave the house before daylight to beat the traffic and return just after dark. She spent two hours in traffic and ten hours at the work place just so to remain the effective provider of the home. Time is money—you know. She had Saturday…

When Ashley said, ‘Hi bub. Cad I go play wit Bary?’, the mother immediately knew there was a problem, because she did not have a cold. Checking her up, she saw something white stuck up her nose. No wonder Ashley could not pronounce the ‘M’s and the ‘N’s. End of story is the doctor manoeuvred…