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                          Weekly Health Bulletin
             Courtesy of Black Bag Medical Information Services
             America's Online Health Information Connection(tm)
                               302-994-3772

       This document is provided for educational purposes only. The
information provided is NOT to be considered as diagnostic or
individual advice. No specific medical quidance or treatment can be
recommended without consultation with a physician. You  should consult
your personal physician prior to utilizing any medical information
discussed in this document. Those contributing to this informational
bulletin, disclaim all responsibility for any actions taken by persons
in reliance upon information stated in this program. Should you choose to
disregard this warning, you assume the risk and responsibility for your
actions.

COLDS: RESISTANCE

Question:

   How are colds transmitted, and how can I best keep from
   getting one?  I'm interested because it seems I catch a cold
   every time people in my office come down with one.  I wash my
   hands, take vitamin C, and try to stay away from people who
   are coughing and sneezing.  What else can I do?

Answer:

   The common cold, one of our most common miseries, produces the
all-too-familiar raw, runny, congested nose and scratchy throat
that account for more missed days of school and work that any
other reason.  The familiar symptoms of colds can be caused by an
array of more than 200 different viruses that attack the tissues
lining the nose and throat and trigger a response of the immune
system.
   Colds are more common in our part of the world during the
winter.  But contrary to what many people still believe, getting
chilled, getting wet, or moving quickly from hot to cold
environments has nothing whatever to do with getting a cold.
   Researchers in England proved it.  After exposing volunteers
to cold viruses, they put them out on the moors in cold rainy
weather, put them in front of fans, put their feet in cold water,
and through a host of other maneuvers.  None of these measures
increased their chances of getting a cold.  It all depended on
being exposed to a virus to which they were not immune.
   How the cold viruses are transmitted from person to person
remains controversial.  One group believes most cold viruses are
transmitted by touching something someone with a cold has touched
and then rubbing your hand now covered with cold viruses across
your nose or eyes.  The viruses set up housekeeping, multiply,
and divide in the lining of the nose and throat.
   Experiments supporting the infected-hand theory showed that
when previously health people smeared nasal discharges from
people with colds into their noses and eyes, they frequently came
down with a cold.  In this study, only 10 percent of colds could
not be accounted for by direct contact.
   Those who believe colds are spread primarily by inhaling
viruses propagated by infected people sneezing and coughing also
have studies to support their theories. The truth probably is
that you can catch a cold virus both by inhaling air ladened with
the viruses and by touching surfaces someone with a cold has
touched with infected secretions.
   If you're immune to the virus, your immune system makes quick
work of it.  If you're not, your immune system has a bit more
trouble getting rid of the virus.  The results are the dripping,
stopped up nose, raw throat, and often irritating cough.
   About all you can do during the cold season to keep from
getting a cold is wash your hands regularly and try to keep your
hands away from your eyes and nose.  Ask people to cough and
sneeze in a tissue and throw it away.  Vitamin C has not proved
effective in preventing the development of colds.  No matter what
adults do, they can expect an average two to four colds a year.
Children have an average four to six.

Part II

             TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT SEXUALITY


One of the most important tasks of being a parent is helping your
children to feel good about themselves and to relate to others in
a healthy way.  Part of this task is taking an active role in
teaching your children about sex and sexuality.

Many parents are uncomfortable in this role.  They may worry
about giving their children too much or not enough information.
They may question whether they are giving information that is
suited to their child's age and peer group.  Parents may have
concerns over talking openly about sex with their children or
about how to answer their questions.  Although these seem like
difficult tasks, most parents just need a little help getting
started.  Once the lines of communication are open, most likely
you'll find it isn't as hard as you think to talk to your
children about these matters.  You may even be surprised at what
they already know.

There are no hard-and-fast rules to follow in teaching your child
about sexuality.  Each family and each child is different.  This
pamphlet offers some guidelines and answers some of the questions
you may have about talking to your children about sex.  It may
help you to be better prepared to meet their needs.


How Children Learn

Sex education is a lifelong process.  From birth onward, children
learn about sexuality from many sources.  When children are very
young, they may learn from how they are held, touched, and talked
to, and from how others respond to them as boys or girls.  As
they grow, children are exposed to many ways of thinking about
sex through the media, schools, and peers.  Sorting out what is
right or wrong, true or false, can be very confusing for them.
This is especially true if they see or hear you or others they
admire acting contrary to what you have taught them or to
examples you have set.

Your children will learn about sex whether you teach them or
not--whether you are open and candid in talking about sex, or
whether you say nothing at all.  Children learn by example, by
what you do more than what you say, such as:

o    The way you dress

o    Your actions around other people of the same and opposite
     sex

o    The ways you show affection

o    Your responses to nudity

As a parent, you can help your children learn about their
sexuality in several ways.  You can give them a set of values
they understand, allow them access to correct information, and
develop mutual trust to keep the lines of communication open.


What to Do First

In thinking about how to approach your role as a sex educator,
begin by deciding what and how you will teach your children:

o    Discuss with your partner your attitudes about sex and what
     you want to convey to your child.

o    Make sure you have correct facts.  There are many
     well-written sources of information on sexuality for
     children, teens, and adults.

o    Set up a relationship of openness and trust with your
     children.

o    Listen to your children.


The Right Start

Parents' attitudes toward their child are crucial to the child's
self-esteem.  A person must like himself or herself before he or
she can like other people, and a child must be valued as an
individual.  Touching, caressing, and holding by parents are ways
to teach infants that they are loved people and to help them
relate warmly to others.  Children who are deprived of this
physical affection may find it hard to express their feelings as
they get older.

For very young children, parents are the center of their world.
They watch you, admire you, copy you.  Early in life, children
begin to develop their attitudes about sex from watching their
parents.  This is when children develop lasting ideas about
sexuality.  Attitudes about sex are strongly influenced by both
speech and action.  Children receive a message from their parents
by what is and is not talked about, and by what body parts the
parents either directly or indirectly indicate may be touched.
For instance, a parent who, while changing a diaper, slaps a
baby's hand away from the genitals gives a distinct message that
this area of the body is not to be touched.

Parents often unknowingly give conflicting messages.  Your words
may say one thing, but your attitudes, actions, or tone of voice
may convey something very different.  The child is then left with
ideas and feelings that are in conflict.


Toddlers

Children first become aware of differences between the bodies of
boys and girls, adults and children, at the toddler stage.
Parents' actions can help to foster a good body image in their
child.  When children begin to ask questions about their
genitals, parents should define sex by what the child has, rather
than by what he or she lacks.  This is a good time to get in the
habit of calling body functions and genitals by their proper
names, such as penis, vagina, and vulva.

This is also the age when toilet training occurs.  This provides
a good opportunity to give children positive attitudes about body
parts and functions.  Young children think that bowel movements
are part of their bodies.  If they are told that bowel movements
are bad, they may feel that they themselves are bad.  Your
reactions will teach them.

It is not too early to begin to teach children that they are "in
charge" of their own bodies--that they decide who can touch them,
and where.  Children need to learn about sexual abuse and to tell
a parent or trusted adult if they have been abused.

Between the ages of three and six, children are very curious
about sex differences.  This is when they make their first real
effort at coming to terms with being a girl or boy.  Sexual
interest is quite open and unashamed, so now is an ideal time for
parents to say that it is all right, even good, for children to
ask questions.  If this open and frank atmosphere can be created
at the toddler stage, it will most likely carry over to times
when children are less open and less apt to question.

Honesty is most important.  Children soon learn whether they can
ask questions and whether they can trust their parents' answers.
If they find that they can, children will continue to discuss
questions and problems with their parents as they grow older.  If
not, they will stop asking questions and will turn to friends,
magazines, advertising, and movies.  All of these sources may
give them information that is wrong and distorted.

If the child doesn't ask questions or express curiosity about sex
by the age of 5 or 6, parents should look for chances to bring up
the subject.  Most likely, children are really interested but may
think that sex is a subject parents won't discuss.  Or they may
think that it's bad to ask questions.


Primary School Years

By this time, a child's interest in sex continues and grows.  It
is usually less obvious, though, because many children feel that
their parents don't want to talk about sex.  This is also the age
when most children pick up slang that often offends the parents.
Parents may create mixed impressions if they don't approve of
children using such language but use it themselves.  When such
language is used, parents should try to discuss it calmly,
explain what the words really mean, and suggest that other words
might be more appropriate.

Up to age 9 or so, children usually want brief and direct answers
to their questions.  The questions are often about the body--how
it functions and why.  If parents tell children more than they
want to know, or offer information that is too advanced, children
will simply be bored or uninterested and stop listening or change
the subject.  On the other hand, too little information can be
harmful.  Parents need to respect a child's curiosity.  Children
who do not have their questions answered are likely to find out
the answers for themselves elsewhere.


Early Adolescence

Ages 11-13 mark a major increase in the child's interest in his
or her personal sexuality.  This is most often the result of the
changes that are taking place in their bodies and their feelings
during this time.  Spurts in height and weight signal puberty,
when sex organs mature and sex glands start to produce hormones
at the adult level.

During this period, young people often compare themselves to
their friends.  Since physical growth varies greatly from one
child to another, children often wonder if they are normal.  They
may need reassurance that they are, even if their development
might be temporarily ahead of or behind that of their friends.
Girls mature about 2 years ahead of boys, a fact that often
disturbs both boys and girls.

Even though peers are likely to become a major source of
information about sex at this age, studies show that children
prefer to receive information from their own home.  Children want
details.  Conception, pregnancy, birth, and types of sexual
expression become of special interest to this age group.  If the
parents can't answer all questions, or are uncomfortable, they
should say so and help the child find the answer through books or
by arranging to talk with professionals who work with teens.  If
you are willing to follow through on getting the answers to such
questions, you will strength-en your child's confidence in you.

Children of this age are often reluctant to bring up the subject
of sex.  It's useful for parents to listen for certain words that
may provide a means to open a discussion.  Your child may give
you that opening.  Both boys and girls need reassurance that the
changes taking place in their bodies are normal.  Girls should be
told of menstruation long before it occurs and boys of erections
and "wet dreams."  These subjects should be discussed openly with
both boys and girls.

Interest in the opposite sex begins at this age.  This is a good
time to reinforce values on sexual behavior.  Don't hold back in
talking about your own values on sexual behavior and
responsibility at this time.  Rapidly changing sexual attitudes
may magnify the generation gap between you and your children.
Your children may try to make you more aware of it, but one thing
never changes:  sexual feelings are normal and natural, and
children need to learn how to handle them.  Discussing topics
often allows understanding to mature on both sides.

A serious problem in teaching children personal values is the
media--movies, TV, and magazines--in which sex is often shown in
a distorted and sensational manner.  Although these may provide
good opportunities for discussion, parents should point out that
much of what children hear and see does not reflect real life.
They need to know that sex is not as simple and easy as it often
appears on TV or in the movies.


Teenage Years

The sex education of teens is a particular worry for many
parents.  Young people reach their full physical growth at this
time.  As a rule, sexual maturity is reached, and strong sexual
urges are likely to occur.  Many teens feel that they are
invulnerable; for instance, many girls at this age simply believe
that they cannot get pregnant if they have sex.  One result of
this is a high teenage pregnancy rate in the United States.

This is also the age at which parents and children are most
likely to differ.  Teenagers are asserting their independence and
taking steps toward adulthood.  Now is the time that values that
have been fostered since infancy, including self-respect and a
sense of responsibility, are tested.

If lines of communication are closed, parents may simply not be
aware of what their teenagers know or what they are doing.  Some
teenagers know very little, some know a lot, and most won't admit
to either.  Many parents feel that talking about sexual behavior
may increase sexual activity, but it doesn't.  Evidence shows
that ignorance, not knowledge, creates problems.

At this age, young people are especially interested in learning
how people behave in sexual situations, about love, and about
birth control.  These questions should be answered as truthfully
and sensitively as possible.  Along with the facts, parents
should also state their values and tell children how they feel.

Teenagers also need open, frank communication about the risk of
getting sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV infection
and AIDS.  Many myths and half-truths tend to surround this
topic.  Parents are in a unique position to try to dispel false
beliefs that their children may have picked up from their friends
or elsewhere.  Teenagers tend to feel that bad things can't
happen to them.  They need to understand that having sex does
carry these risks, as well as the risk of pregnancy.  As a
parent, you can help your teenager feel that "it's okay to say
no," even though it's not always easy, when he or she feels
pressure from peers to have sex.


Communication

At any age, sex education is a matter of communication between
parent and child.  This is a two-way process, not an exchange
between an adult lecturer and a child listener.  Often it's the
parent who needs to really listen.

If you start being open about sex when your child is young, it
will be much easier for you to talk to each other when he or she
is a teen.  If your children are already in their teen years, you
may fear that it is too late to open these lines of
communication.  While it is true that younger children are more
open and responsive, it is really never too late.  Admit to your
child that you are uneasy.  Tell your child that you'll try to do
your best.  Children who feel free to ask questions about sex
will ask questions about other subjects as well.  If the
groundwork for open communication is laid early, it is likely to
survive the difficult teenage years.

Some think that mothers should talk only to girls and fathers
only to boys.  But mothers can add a great deal to the
development of their sons' sexual attitudes and fathers to their
daughters' by being willing to discuss these topics.

A mother or father who is a single parent is faced with special
problems.  It is important to give the child a chance to know
adults of the other sex.  Uncles, aunts, neighbors, friends,
grandparents, or the child's other parent can be seen as role
models.  If you are a single parent, you may be involved in
relationships with the opposite sex that may seem similar to
those your teenager is having.  Teenagers will be watching to see
if what you say and do are the same, and whether this matches
what you expect from them.


Additional Help

Sometimes it is wise to get help from a third person.  This
person could be a doctor, member of the clergy, coach, teacher,
school counselor, relative, or family friend.  There are also
people specially trained to counsel teens.

Your local bookstore and public library have a variety of reading
materials.  Books on child development and adolescent and child
health usually cover sexuality.  You can also talk to
professionals in the field or contact community groups for help.


Finally . . .

Parents and children make mistakes.  These mistakes aren't always
made through the fault of one or the other.  Your goal as a
parent in teaching your children about sexuality should be to
help them become responsible, well-informed adults with a strong
sense of self-esteem, who know that they are unique.  The
important thing to remember is to do the best you can.  No one is
perfect.  If you simply try your best to understand and love each
child, you have done well.


     This news file is compiled weekly from the archives of the
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