Recognizing and Addressing Teen Burnout

As you know, being a parent is quite a journey filled with joy and challenges. Unfortunately, the stress, burnout, and exhaustion we experience as parents are not exclusive to us. In today's fast-paced world, our teens and young adults are also wrestling with mental, emotional, and physical health issues. The demands of school, sports, social media, and various relationships can take a toll on our teens, making it crucial for you parents to actively engage in supporting them.

If your teen is struggling in any way and you’re not sure how to help them, this is the blog for you.

Understanding the Perfect Storm

It's important to recognize that the challenges your teen may be facing is not solely a result of their current stressors. Recent research suggests that our modern environment and lifestyle create a "Perfect Storm," affecting neurological and physiological development from an early age. If your teen is struggling with health and neurological issues in their formative years, they may find it increasingly challenging to cope with stress as they enter adolescence.

Recognizing the Early Signs

Before burnout and exhaustion set in, your teen has experienced two distinct stages of stress and what we call subluxation: sympathetic fight or flight overload and Neurological Dysfunction. Identifying these stages early can help you to take proactive steps to support your teen.

The 5 Signs of Burnout + Exhaustion in Teens Today:

1. Sleep, Gut, and Immune Health Challenges:

• Addressing basic physiological functions is crucial to prevent constant wear and exhaustion, ensuring a healthy brain and autonomic nervous system regulation.

• 2. Physical Pain, Posture, Headaches:

• Recognizing signs of neurological exhaustion, such as poor posture and frequent injuries, can aid in early intervention.

• 3. Irritability, Agitation, and Big Mood Swings:

• Acknowledging the impact of exhaustion on teens' emotional well-being is essential to understanding their struggles.

• 4. Mental and Emotional Dysregulation:

• Identifying impulsive behaviors and difficulty concentrating as signs of neurological exhaustion allows for targeted support.

• 5. Poor Lifestyle Choices + Eating Habits:

• Monitoring and guiding teens towards healthier choices can mitigate the impact of exhaustion on their overall well-being.

Taking Proactive Steps: How Parents Can Help Their Teens

Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Adjustments are a specialized form of care that specifically targets the autonomic nervous system. These adjustments serve as a crucial initial step towards achieving better health by directly stimulating the nervous system. This approach recognizes the integral role the autonomic nervous system plays in regulating all bodily functions and seeks to optimize its functioning.

Prioritizing healthy sleep patterns is emphasized as a key component in promoting overall well-being for your child. The understanding here is that improved sleep can have a significant positive impact on their energy levels and contribute to better overall health. This highlights the importance of incorporating good sleep habits into your teen’s lifestyle as a fundamental aspect of maintaining and enhancing physical well-being. This is one of the biggest things we hear from our patients once they start care; their sleep greatly improves.

Understanding the connection between gut health and mental well-being and promoting a balanced diet is crucial.  Chiropractic adjustments help to activate the vagus nerve, which is sometimes called the rest and digest nerve, because of the crucial role it plays in those functions. Recognizing the relationship between the digestive system and mental health, the approach could also encourage your teen to adopt dietary practices that support both gut and immune health. 

Empowerment, engagement, and health education are highlighted as crucial strategies, particularly for your teen. Actively engaging with your teen, understanding their interests, and providing education on the link between physical health and mental well-being are identified as powerful initial steps. This approach seeks to empower teens with the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed decisions about their health, fostering a sense of responsibility.

Lastly, as Neurologically-Focused Pediatric Chiropractors, we love to connect and collaborate with other health professionals. We encourage it, and it can end up being a very well-rounded strategy for your teen.

Addressing the Root Cause

While medication may be necessary in some extreme cases, addressing the root cause of your teens’ challenges involves understanding the neurological imbalances and dysfunctions contributing to burnout and exhaustion.

As parents, our role is pivotal in supporting our teens' mental health. By recognizing the signs of burnout, taking meaningful actions, and collaborating with healthcare professionals, we can empower our teens to lead healthier, more balanced lives.

To dive deeper into supporting your teen's mental health through Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care, explore PX Docs' Clinical Process and cutting-edge technology like the INSiGHT Scans. These tools help detect and address neurological dysfunction at the core of teen burnout and exhaustion, ensuring a drug-free approach to their well-being.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us today at Live Well Family Chiropractic to schedule a consultation. We want to strive towards a future where teens are not only healthier but also equipped with the knowledge and support needed to navigate their well-being with confidence. We are here to support you every step of the way!  If you are not local to us, please check out the PX Docs directory to find a local office near you.

Dr. Tara is dedicated to providing you with the absolute best in family wellness care. So take a moment today to discuss with your Family Wellness Chiropractor any concerns you may have regarding your family’s overall health and wellness.

Antibiotics and Kids: What Parents Need to Know About Side Effects

As parents, the well-being of our children is our top priority, so we are always trying to stay informed about the choices we make for their health. Today, we dive into a topic that affects countless families – the use of antibiotics in infants and young children. Antibiotics can play a pivotal role in saving lives, but as parents, we must be aware of their potential impact on our children’s health. This blog aims to empower and educate on the far-reaching effects of antibiotics.

If you have young children who have been on antibiotics in their early years, this is for you. We will dive into the dangers of antibiotics in kids and the associated risks, both short-term and long-term. As well as the intricate impact of antibiotics on autoimmune and neurodevelopmental health in children. And most importantly, the natural strategies for recovery.

Every year, an increasing amount of research highlights the risks associated with administering antibiotics to children. Despite decades of awareness, pediatricians, urgent care centers, and other conventional medical systems persist in overprescribing antibiotics at alarming rates. Furthermore, early exposure to antibiotics is identified as one of the top three contributing factors or “ingredients” in what we call “The Perfect Storm.” This refers to the pathway leading to conditions such as autism, ADHD, anxiety, autoimmune disorders, and other chronic illnesses prevalent in our children today.

The Risks of the Overuse of Antibiotics

1. Increased Risk of Autoimmune Disorders like Asthma and Allergies

Antibiotics, though life-saving, can disturb the balance between your child’s immune system and gut microbiome. This disruption has been linked to a higher risk of conditions such as asthma, allergies, and even obesity in children. 

2. Increased Risk of Neurodevelopmental Challenges like Autism + ADHD

The connection between the gut and brain is very delicate and antibiotics can disrupt. This interference can affect neurotransmitter production - which is essential for higher brain function, cognition, and emotional regulation - potentially contributing to neurodevelopmental challenges like Autism and ADHD.

3. Disruption of Gut Microbiome

The gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem of bacteria, plays a pivotal role in a child’s overall health. Antibiotics, unfortunately, disrupt the natural balance of the gut microbiome by killing both harmful and beneficial bacteria. This leads to imbalances and potential gastrointestinal issues, such as diarrhea and, in some cases, more serious conditions that could cause severe colitis.

4. Allergic Reactions

While allergic reactions to antibiotics are rare, they can range from mild skin irritations to severe, life-threatening responses like anaphylaxis. It’s crucial for parents to be aware of any past reactions and communicate them to healthcare providers.

5. Antibiotic Resistance + Development of Secondary Infections

Perhaps one of the most pressing concerns is the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When antibiotics are used excessively or inappropriately, bacteria can evolve to become resistant to these drugs, making infections harder to treat and leading to increased medical costs, prolonged hospital stays, and increased mortality.  Overuse of antibiotics can also lead to the development of secondary infections. 

6. Global Health Threat

The overuse of antibiotics extends beyond individual health; it’s a global issue. It contributes to the rise of superbugs, bacteria resistant to most antibiotics, posing a severe threat to global health security.

Chiropractic Care as a First Choice

While antibiotics remain pivotal in emergencies, there’s an alternative for families under regular Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care at Live Well Family Chiropractic. We offer a safe and natural way to support your child’s defenses against viruses, bacteria, and infections. 

Neurologically-Focused Pediatric Chiropractors aim to strengthen your child’s body’s natural defense systems rather than directly treating an infection or illness they catch. Adjustments focus on improving their body’s “drainage and plumbing,” providing relief from sinus and ear pressure, facilitating easier fluid movement, and transforming dry coughs into productive mucus-clearing ones. 

In essence, by enhancing the body's "plumbing" and "wiring," your children can clear congestion, inflammation, and infections more efficiently and naturally without resorting to antibiotics or other medications. 

So many parents share with us how consistent chiropractic adjustments and a healthy lifestyle lead to less sickness for their kids. And when their children do get sick, they recover from colds and respiratory challenges faster and easier after adjustments. 

If you would prefer to reserve antibiotics for emergencies rather than the standard first option, consider changing your “batting order” of providers. Begin your journey with us at Live Well Family Chiropractic.  If you are not local to us, check out our PX Docs directory to find a PX Doc office near you! 

Dr. Tara is dedicated to providing you with the absolute best in family wellness care. So take a moment today to discuss with your Family Wellness Chiropractor any concerns you may have regarding your family’s overall health and wellness.

Everything You Need to Know About Croup, Cough, and Kicking It to the Curb!

As parents, we understand that your child’s health and well-being are your top priorities. We know how challenging it can be to watch your little one struggle with croup, especially those sleepless nights filled with worry when they start coughing and experiencing difficulty breathing. It’s heartbreaking and scary, especially when you’re not quite sure what to do to help them. That’s why we want to empower you with the knowledge and strategies you need to confidently navigate croup episodes and provide the best care for your child.

Imagine being able to soothe your child’s croup symptoms, ease their discomfort, and make those stressful nights a thing of the past - all while minimizing the use of medications. In this blog, we’ll share valuable insights, expert tips, and natural remedies that can help your child handle a bout of croup and, even more importantly, prevent and avoid them altogether in the future.

Understanding Croup

What is Croup?

Croup is an infection of the upper airway that primarily affects young children, especially those between 6 months to 3 years old. It’s characterized by distinctive symptoms such as a barking cough, hoarse voice, and labored breathing, which tends to worsen at night.

Medical professionals diagnose croup by observing a child’s breathing, listening with a stethoscope, and may use diagnostic tools like neck or chest X-rays and pulse oximetry to check oxygen levels. Traditional treatment involves corticosteroids, which can reduce inflammation and swelling in the larynx and respiratory system. While these medications can be life-saving, they come with serious short-term and long-term side effects for your child.

Causes of Croup

Addressing common misconceptions about croup is essential to understand that it’s not solely due to exposure to germs but is related to your child’s ability to handle those germs. Factors like birth trauma feeding difficulties sleep challenges, and subluxation can weaken your child’s immune system and make them more susceptible to croup. We’ll delve into how these factors play a role in what we call the “Perfect Storm.”

Chiropractic and How to Care for Croup

Some essential home care strategies include the importance of keeping your child calm and comforted, ensuring they stay hydrated, using humidifiers, and alternating between warm and cold air to ease symptoms.

Chiropractic care does not aim to treat or cure croup but rather to support your child’s natural defenses and improve the function of the neuro-immune system.

Subluxation can disrupt the communication between the brain and the immune system. This miscommunication can weaken your child’s ability to fight off infections, making your child more susceptible to conditions like croup. Chiropractic adjustments aim to restore proper communication and enhance the body’s natural defenses.

The benefits of chiropractic adjustments during bouts of croup are improved drainage, better sleep, shorter illness duration, and reduced medication use. By focusing on your child’s nervous system, chiropractic care helps ensure that their body’s innate healing mechanisms are functioning optimally.

At Live Well Family Chiropractic our hope is that you can take these natural solutions and deploy them to help your little one breathe better, recover faster, and build a stronger immune system so that they experience fewer bouts of croup, cough, and illness down the road!

Dr. Tara is dedicated to providing you with the absolute best in family wellness care. So take a moment today to discuss with your Family Wellness Chiropractor any concerns you may have regarding your family’s overall health and wellness.