Of Non-Stop Crying Or Not Crying At All

Folk Remedies For Colic Do Not Work, Review Says

By LINDSEY TANNER

CHICAGO – That nonstop crying of a baby with colic has some parents turning to popular folk remedies. Unfortunately, there's no good evidence they work, according to a review of 15 studies.
The results don't surprise New York City mom Leni Calas, 32. She tried many treatments studied, including fennel extract, sugar drops and massage, and says nothing worked for baby Roxy, who cried almost nonstop for six months.
"Our daughter would wake up and cry literally morning to night without napping," Calas said. "She would just literally scream herself purple, and then throw up because she had been screaming so much."
Calas said she and her husband couldn't accept what doctors told them — that there was nothing wrong with their baby and that she'd outgrow the crying spells. But that's exactly what happened.
And that's what most doctors believe about colic, which affects up to roughly 20 percent of U.S. babies, usually in the first few months of life.
If a physical problem can be found, the condition is usually not considered colic. Gastric reflux and protein allergies are among conditions that can cause digestive upsets and crying spells in babies, and are often mistakenly called colic.
That may explain why some remedies thought to ease digestive problems may not work in babies with true colic, including alternative treatments containing fennel, herbal teas and probiotics, which all were included in the medical review.
Alternative remedies are not tested and approved by the federal government, and the purity and amounts of their ingredients are not always verified. Parents should always check with their pediatricians if they plan to give their children an alternative treatment, said Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, head of the American Academy of Pediatrics nutrition committee.
The study by researchers at the University of Exeter in England was published online Monday in Pediatrics. The researchers analyzed results from 15 studies on various alternative remedies, massage and chiropractic methods advertised as effective against colic. Overall, almost 1,000 infants were involved.
Few of the studies were rigorously conducted and all had "major limitations," the researchers said.
"Thus, the notion that any form of complementary and alternative medicine is effective for infantile colic is currently not supported from the evidence" studied, they said.
None of the studies reported side effects, but one involving an herbal remedy listed vomiting, constipation and other symptoms possibly related to the treatment.
Although there were promising signs with a few treatments, including fennel extract, herbal teas and sugar solutions, better research is needed to provide conclusive evidence, said researcher Rachel Perry, the review's lead author.
Her own two children had colic, but it disappeared around the time she tried giving them an over-the-counter herbal liquid promoted as effective against colic.
Because colic does go away on its own, it's hard to determine whether specific treatments might work, she said.
"As a desperate mother, I can understand the sort of desire to try anything," Perry said.
She urged parents not to give up, since it's possible better designed studies on alternative remedies will show more definitive results.
Bhatia, a professor at Georgia Health Sciences University, said the study results don't mean that none of the treatments will work for any baby. Some parents do report success with alternative remedies. Sometimes that might be because parents think it will work and they feel calmer, which can in turn calm the baby — a placebo effect. But even if there's only a placebo effect, there's no reason not to continue, as long as doctors have been consulted and the treatment is safe, Bhatia said.
Parents should always check with their pediatricians if they plan to give their children an alternative treatment, said Bhatia, For Leni Calas' baby Roxy, now almost 2, the incessant crying spells tapered down and by 9 months disappeared.
Calas said she's convinced of one thing "that no one wants to hear — that the only thing that really does cure it is time."
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Online:
American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org

Source :News Yahoo - March 28, 2011

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Toddler Tianna May Die If She Cries
By JOEL TAYLOR

Little Tianna Lewis McHugh Is The Girl Who Cannot Cry.

She has a rare condition which means her tears could trigger a fatal fit.

Tianna McHugh suffers Reflex Anoxic Seizures, which can be fatal

Her parents Ceri Lewis and Andy McHugh face a tense daily battle to make sure she doesn't cry.
The two-year-old looks as if she has died when she has a terrifying Reflex Anoxic Seizure.
Her skin turns white, her body stiffens, her heart stops beating and she stops breathing.

Other children with the condition react to pain, fear or fright, but Tianna has a form so extreme that simply crying can trigger a fit.
Tianna, of Wrexham, was diagnosed with the condition aged 18 months and has survived ten seizures since. The most serious one lasted two hours.
Describing the first fit, mother Ceri, 23, said: 'She looked like she had died. She went a deathly grey, her lips and around her eyes were blue and her eyes rolled back in her head. I was hysterical.'
Father Andy, 30, said he had to resuscitate his daughter.
'After five or six blows she took a massive breath and came around crying her eyes out,' said the car sales executive.
Tianna suffered her last seizure in July and her parents are hoping she will grow out of the condition.

Source: Metro.co.uk - November 3, 2009

Yusuf Estes: Get Involved And Share

Yusuf Estes was born in January 1, 1944 in Ohio, into an Anglo-Saxon Protestant family.

His family owned several musical instrument companies including the Estes Piano and Organ Company.
From 1962 to 1990, his career was in the music industry, entertainment, marketing, working as a music instructor and music minister.
He produced and directed live entertainment programs in the United States from the mid 1960s until his last endeavour for cable TV in Florida, entitled 'Estes Music Jamboree'.

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Yusuf Estes, a former Catholic Priest, left Christianity in the early 1990s after being involved in a business collaboration with an Egyptian named Muhammad.
The Texas businessman came to Islam while trying to preach Christianity to the Egyptian.

Here is the story of his conversion.

Following his conversion in 1991 at 47-years old, he pursued Arabic language and Quranic studies in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey.

Islamic Missionary Centre In Houston, Texas.

Yusuf Estes, now a former National Muslim Chaplain for the United States Bureau of Prisons, as well as a Delegate to the United Nations World Peace Conference for Religious Leaders held in September 2000. He is actively involved in Islamic missionary work in the United States, and often features as guest lecturer and keynote speaker at various Islamic events, as well as frequently appearing on various Islamic satellite TV channels.

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From 2004, Estes regularly appeared on the Islam Channel, a UK-based, free-to-air English language, Islamic-focused satellite television channel.
UK government figures state that 59% of Muslims watch the channel regularly above any other Muslim Channel.
It broadcasts across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
It is soon to commence broadcasting in North America.

Estes appeared on Peace TV too.
Referred as an "edutainment channel", the Islamic satellite television network broadcasting globally 24/7 from Dubai - Another English language and telecasted free-to-air.
Since January 21, 2006, it has been telecasted to more than 150 countries around the world, including in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and North America.
It's sister channel (Peace TV Urdu) was launched in 2009, dedicated to the Urdu-speaking viewers around the world.

Estes can be seen on Huda TV too. Another 24/7 Islamic channels broadcasting in many countries around the globe, via satellite and via the website Watch Islam TV Channels.

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One of the first thing to strike Yusuf Estes since coming into the religion, was the lack of proper presentation of Islam in the English language.
He quickly decided the best type of 'business' for him 'to work for the Next Life' - It is by showing others the beautiful and logical reality that is true Islam.

For this reason, he dedicated himself to producing the very best in Islamic presentations, videos and websites – for all people of all ages. Guide US TV, first American Islamic Channel is the most important project he had been blessed to work on.
He wished to put Islam in every household on earth - Work to make a real, positive difference.
GOD willing, Ameen.
He also set up websites directed toward English speaking Muslim youth which include www.TubeIslam.com, a Muslim video sharing site, and www.ChatIslam.com, a Muslim Chatroom, and for young children www.WorldPreschool.com, Preschool Learning.

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Since his own entrance into the religion and becoming a chaplain to the Muslims throughout the country and around the world, he encountered many more individuals who were leaders, teachers and scholars, who learned about 'the religion of peace' and entered into it - The reason is always, people are sincerely seeking the truth and are willing to put their different prejudices and biases out of their minds and begin to ask GOD for HIS Guidance in their lives.

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I'm linking you to Darul Arqam, a Converts' Association of Singapore for Yusuf Estes's talk on "Get Involved And Share", when he was in Singapore, last year.

He mentioned of people wanting to get to know Islam, but the followers are projected to rather focus on the "anger management" issues.
In the end, the only people who speaks for Islam are mostly from non-Muslims scholars of the Western scholarly tradition.
GOD Willing, there is change in the approach to some outstanding issues in Singapore which needs greater attention by Muslims, and ALLAH Knows Best.

He carries an important message which Muslim could play a part to reach out their faith to others, so that they could understand the true faith.
It is a different matter of their response.

But with the many distortions and misunderstanding portrayed both by non-Muslims and Muslims too, the need to understand and the knowledge of Islamic teachings, how it should be portrayed, both in practise and in delivering the message, is vital.

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Here, he appeared on Catholic TV on his conversion.

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Sheikh Yusuf Estes (link to his website) suggests the seeker of truth do the following NINE STEPS to purification of the heart:

1-Clean - your mind, your heart and soul - remove all prejudices and biases. 

2-Thank GOD - for what you have - every moment of every day. 

3-Read - a good translation of the meaning of the Noble Quran in a.language.that.they.can.understand.best.

4-Reflect - on the meanings and consider the bounties of GOD. 

5-Seek - Forgiveness from GOD and Learn to Forgive others.

6-Ask - in your heart for Guidance from Above.

7-Open - your heart and mind. 

8-Continue - to do this up for a few months. And be regular in it. 

9-Avoid - the poison of evil while your heart is opening for the "rebirth of your soul." 

Remember - CLEAN; THANK; READ; REFLECT - Then SEEK, and you shall find. 

ASK, and it shall be given. 

KNOCK, and.it.shall be opened.

Then CONTINUE and AVOID.

The rest is between you and THE ALMIGHTY LORD of the Universe.

If you truly seek HIM, then HE already Knows it and HE will deal with each of us according to our hearts.

Source: Articles Base - September 25, 2010

In Prison - For Better? Or Worse?

Islam In American Barrios & Prisons: Converts Reclaim Moorish Spain, Reject Church 

by SpearIt

 

[Image by SpearIt]
 

For those in the US typically designated as “Latino” or “Hispanic,” the historical legacy of Islam plays a role similar to that in the African-American context. As the term “Moor” was embraced by various African-American leaders to unite poor, disenfranchised blacks with the glory of Islam, the connection to Moorish Spain provides a powerful tool to re-imagine Latino identity. Converts learn that popular Latin American terms like ojala (“may God will”) derive from the Arabic allah and that their African ancestors used to chant “Allah, Allah, Allah,” which in Spain became “Ole, Ole, Ole.” Such connections offer evidence of Islam’s influence on Spanish pedigree, regardless of what etymologists might conclude. Like many African Americans, Latino converts reject the notion of “conversion” altogether and instead embrace the notion of “reversion” to denote not merely a turn to the faith, but a return. The importance of Moorish Spain, then, is of special relevance to both Latinos and African Americans for reclaiming their lost Muslim and African heritage. Islam can also become a foil to critique their previous affiliations with Christianity and a way of distancing themselves from the most recent Catholic church sex scandals. But more specifically and perhaps importantly, Islam provides African-American and Latino converts a way to reject the long history of Christian church associations with the missionary ventures in Africa and Latin America that were anything but holy. Thus, the very act of converting within a predominant Christian community might itself represent a radical proposition, and in some cases may facilitate the cultivation of extremism.

The case of Jose Padilla, who was arrested in 2002 and accused of plotting a “dirty bomb,” brought to the world stage an unfolding drama in the American religious landscape. Primarily, it provided a first-hand glimpse of conversion by one who was once a member of the Latin Kings. For Padilla, gang life led to prison, and prison to Islam, which eventually led him to jihad. His story raised questions about the role of prisons in conversion, radicalization and terror recruitment, including speculation as to whether he first found God behind bars. Since Padilla, there have been at least two other high-profile terrorism cases involving Latino converts—a seemingly disproportionate number considering the relatively tiny number of Latino Muslims in the United States. This makes the involvement of Latino radicals all the more intriguing and worthy of critical attention.

Reports and studies show that Latinos in America are indeed turning to Islam, with current estimates ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 in the United States. In general, obtaining an accurate census for Muslims in the United States has proved elusive, with figures ranging from two to eight million adults. The entire number of Latinos is thus an approximation at best. Islam first appeared in the barrios of the American Northeast in the early 1970s with converts entering Islam by affiliating with African American mosques or with the Nation of Islam. The question of Latino conversion to Islam seemingly indicates that Islam is making inroads, especially among jail and prison populations. US penitentiaries foster a major interface between Muslims, usually African-Americans and Latinos who, when combined, make up a disproportionate size of the population. In places like California and Texas, home to two of the largest incarceration operations in the world, the majority of inmates are Latinos.

No reliable statistics exist for the total number of Muslim prisoners held throughout American institutions of imprisonment. Nationwide it has been estimated that fifteen percent of the prison population is Muslim; elsewhere this has been quantified as roughly 300,000 - 350,000. At the federal level, the Office of the Inspector General has reported that approximately six percent of the 150,000 federal inmates seek Islamic services. Despite the lack of reliable figures, scholars, chaplains and some prison officials have claimed that Islam is the fastest growing religion behind bars, and one study revealed that at one particular research site, one-third of African-American males converted while incarcerated.

Islam’s appeal to Latinos is enhanced by the force of hip hop culture, and Islam’s success in prison is matched only by its influence in music. Islam is dubbed the “official religion” of hip hop, while Muslim rap artists have helped spawn “raptivists” and “blastmasters”; in turn, hip hop music has been like a loyal ambassador for the faith. For many young Americans, the music affords their first encounters with Islam and race politics. Although some listeners may not be aware of or interested in the religious underpinnings of the music, rap is an outlet that has brought Islamic themes and symbols to mainstream America. The most radical strains of this music, called “godcore” or “jihadi” rap offer some of the most militant voices of Islam in America, perhaps second only to those heard behind bars. Sometimes they are one in the same, like Latino rapper Immortal Technique, an ex-prisoner who represents the most hardened core of rappers on the underground circuit, “a suicide bomber strapped and ready to blow.”

For Latinos, as with African Americans, the influence of hip hop culture, and increasingly prisons, are common vehicles for spreading radical Islam. This point suggests that religious radicalism in the United States has a strong root in American culture itself. Although many would point to foreign influences as a primary culprit for Islamic radicalization, the evidence points to actors on the homefront. The case of Daniel Maldonado is illustrative. Maldonado was an outspoken convert who radicalized to the point of moving overseas to Egypt and plotting attacks in Somalia. For Maldonado, it was American culture and foreign policy that drove him to jihad, not the persuasion of foreigners. Such is the case of the Baltimore-based Antonio Martinez, aka Muhammad Hussain, who recently was charged with attempting to detonate a weapon of mass destruction: he did not have any solid foreign connections, rather, his radicalization was homegrown and, as some have charged, homecooked by FBI sting operations.

The weight of empirical data seems to suggest that foreign influences are not primary vehicles of religious radicalism in the United States. Rather, the catalyzing forces have to do with perceived systemic unfairness and oppression of Muslims at home and abroad. Although homegrown radicals may eventually seek to work with foreign interests in the name of Islam, they need little help from abroad to reach this point. For prisoners, the prison experience itself may serve as a radicalizing factor, and an inmate who serves as “imam” at his prison is a more likely suspect for igniting individuals than organizations abroad. Perhaps more than anything else, these cases, along with Padilla and others, reveal the United States as a producer and exporter of jihadists. Thus, although alarmist voices have raised red flags about the influence of foreign Islamic organizations, especially in prisons, the more likely threat is from indigenous influences, as the Kevin Lamar James case also exemplifies. For Latinos, conversion to Islam is already a radical posture when coming from a Catholic background. Thus, this demographic may provide a fertile field of a priori radical converts already dissatisfied, dismayed and disgruntled, some of whom can be cultivated to violent extremes. 

Source: Jadaliyya - Jan 7, 2011