It is easy to forget that Paracetamol and Ibuprofen are actually dangerous drugs that, although available over the counter, should be used with caution. The constant use of both drugs can not only render the drugs useless as your system adjusts to their pain-relieving qualities, but Paracetamol can build up in your system and cause liver damage; Ibuprofen can cause long-term digestive disturbances and stomach cramps.
If a student needs Paracetamol during the college day when a parent is not available to take responsibility for the dose given, the student should visit the medical room where it can be administered by trained staff (by prior parental consent) and the dose supervised and recorded for both parents’ and college records.
Many ailments require pain relief but in the case of recurring headaches students should make arrangements to visit the optician and get their eyes tested as this is often a major cause of pain. If the headache is stress-related there are alternative ways to relieve symptoms, such as drinking plenty of water throughout the day, getting plenty of fresh air during breaks, ensuring a good night’s sleep and avoiding large amounts of chocolate and highly-coloured sweets and drinks. Diet plays a large part in balancing the chemicals in the blood that can cause headaches so a good healthy diet with plenty of fluid and fruit can often ward them off before they occur. Mrs D. Graham, Welfare Assistant
HOW LOUD IS LOUD?
Many people who use ear bud style headphones increase the volume to around 110-112 decibels in order to cut out background noise. This is the same sound level you would expect from a rock concert or a motor bike revving its engine. This level can cause hearing loss after as little as 90 minutes.
Audiologists now recommend that you use the ‘60/60 rule’, which means no louder than 60% of your maximum volume for no longer than 60 minutes per day and to use isolating headphones instead of ear buds. Ear bud headphones can cause twice as much damage to eardrums due to direct pressure and noise and can result in some degree of hearing loss in adults as young as twenty. Many young people are reporting that they can no longer hear conversations if there is any background noise present and that unless looking directly at the speaker conversation is muffled and hard to understand.
Keeping your hearing healthy is as important as looking after the rest of your body but is often over looked until it is too late and the damage done and unfortunately once impaired you are often left with the problem for life. If you love your music, love your ears! Mrs D. Graham, Welfare Assistant
HOME
PRINT VERSION