Q Split ends in my hair !! Any treatment?

Splint ends are caused due to dryness and damage to hairs. Factors that can cause dryness and damage to hair are over exposure to sun rays, poor nutrition, excessive use of chemical based hair products, use of hair dryers, etc. Here we are also listing some general tips to improve your hair health: Warm oil massage, regular trimming of hair, minimizing use of hair dryers or styling products, following a balanced and nutritious diet, covering your hair properly while going out in sun and avoid combing hair when they are wet.

Q What can i do if my child is overweight?

Overweight children are more likely to grow up into overweight adults, so your concern for raised weight of child is appropriate. It is usually better that the child maintains their current weight while they continue to grow in height. Making changes to your family~s lifestyle can make a real difference to your child~s weight. Eat regular meals, together as a first step towards a healthier diet. Use homemade food rather than relying on ready-made meals to help you to lower the fat and sugar content in your meals. Avoid the diet like snacks and meals that are high in fat or sugar, such as chocolate, biscuits, sweets and fizzy drinks, and aim to replace these with healthier alternatives such as fruits. Exercise is helpful to burn extra calories in your child. Kindly focus on light exercises done by your child like standing up, moving around, walking at a slow pace and less energetic play. Also active play (such as hide and seek and stuck in the mud), fast walking, riding a bike, dancing, swimming, climbing, skipping rope, gymnastics are helpful depending upon the age.

Q I always fancy about my best friend. Am I gay?

It is normal and it does not label you as gay if you occasionally fantasise about your best friend. Many heterosexual men and women have sexual dreams of the same sex. As per the opinion of one psychologist gay people fantasise about their own sex while masturbating while heterosexual dont. The important thing is to accept that it is ok to be not sure and take your own time in deciding which may you want to go.

Q What is erectile dysfunction?

Erectile dysfunction is a medical disorder in which male has difficulty either in getting an erection or maintaining an erection till the completion of sexual act. It can be caused due to excessive smoking or alcohol consumption, excessive physical or mental stress, diabetes, high blood pressure, ageing, side effects of certain drugs, post surgery. Treatment will depend upon the cause and include oral medication, penis pump, surgery, implants.

Q My 10 year old daughter continues to wet the bed. Not every night, but i thought it would stop as she grows but still hasnt. I wonder if there is something medically wrong.

If you daughter has nocturnal enuresis sometimes, it may need further evaluation, as this is not so common in teenagers. There are some factors that may affect urine control in teens. These include excessive intake of caffeine drinks like tea or coffee, deep sleep pattern which can be a normal for growing teen, excessive emotional stress or fear of something, inconsistent sleep timings etc. These things can be corrected in order to fix the problem. Other things to give consideration are certain medications, diabetes of other medical diseases, family history of parents having the same problem, urinary tract infection, etc. If she is having this problem since her childhood, then this can be considered as primary nocturnal enuresis and she can be out of 2% of girls who continues with this till they reach their teen. This thing can be improved with proper counselling to her. Making her to use bathroom before going to bed. Limiting her fluid intake before going to bed. She can be effectively treated with moisture alarms while asleep. It will be less likely that she will need medications for this. Proper counselling and educating her may motivate her to take initiation to cure herself. You may take her to physician to rule out underlying disease if any.

Q Is it possible to raise your IQ?

Intelligence is mostly hereditary. Intellectual ability grows until about age 16, and after that changes very little. Practicing various skills which are tested on IQ tests will increase your IQ score some, but it is not likely to increase your intelligence. Intelligence is basically the abilities to learn, to reason, to remember, to think abstractly, to problem-solve, etc. These abilities are very difficult to improve once you are an adult, though you may improve specific skills. E.g. you can improve basic mathematical skills by practicing them often and learning certain mathematical shortcuts, or you can learn to read faster by pushing your reading speed and learning to scan for meaning. Generally, the best way to improve your performance in specific work tasks is to do those tasks a lot. When you do that, you gradually learn the best possible techniques to efficiently and accurately complete that work, in the minimum necessary amount of time.

Q I am 43 year old man and my wife 41 year we have 4 year and 6 month daughter. We are very confused whether to go for second child as my only daughter feels very lonely. Can you advice?

First, determine whether you and your wife are physically, mentally and financially ready to have a second child. It is definitely possible to conceive at this age; however there are many factors that you should take into account before arriving at a decision. A womans fertility decreases drastically in her forties so there is a major possibility that your wife may have to use donor eggs to achieve pregnancy. The risk of complications during pregnancy such as diabetes and high blood pressure increases. Moreover, there are higher chances of premature and still births. You may need to use assisted reproductive techniques thus escalating costs. I am not trying to discourage you, but giving you the facts. On the other hand, some women do get pregnant well into their 40s, and many of them have complication-free pregnancies and healthy babies. Both of you should make an informed decision after knowing all the pros and cons. For any further clarification, visit a gynaecologist who will brief you about all available options. Do consider the possibility of adoption too.

Q Are growing pains real?

Growing pains are seen in children of the age group 5 to 12 years. Thses always concentrate in the muscles, rather than the joints. Most kids have pains in the front of their thighs, in the calves, or behind the knees. The children with growing pains can be helped by massaging the area, stretching or by placing a heating pad on the area.

Q Can HIV spread from kissing?

In most cases HIV virus is not transmitted through saliva. The saliva of an infected person does contain HIV, but the virus is only present there in very small quantities making it next to impossible for the disease or virus to be passed on to another in that way. For instance in the case of two people kissing, if both partners were to have large open sores in their mouths, or if they had severely damaged or bleeding gums then they might transmit the virus through the act of mouth to mouth kissing.

Q What is an ideal weight for a 3-year-old child?

Ideally, a 3-year-old kid should weigh about 12-14 kg. Do not worry if your kids weight does not increase too much and too quickly after this. After the kid is a year older than this age, the changes in weight can be seen only once a year as growth rate slows down with increasing age.