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In the days when whites ruled South Africa and apartheid was the law of the land, two middle-aged blacks met in a white only section of Johannesburg. One of them had a permit to work in the area, the other did not. This meant he could be put behind bars for trespassing into an exclusive zone.
Suddenly they saw a policeman coming towards them, and froze. “Run!” whispered the man with the permit to his friend. “I’ll follow.”
They started running and the policeman shouting “Stop, stop,” began chasing them.
Finally, he caught the second man.
“Did you think you could outrun me!” he snarled. “Show me your permit!”
The man, playing for time, began fumbling in his pocket and finally produced his permit.
The policeman was taken aback. He realized that he had been tricked. The man without the permit was now too far away to be caught.
“When you had a permit why did you run!” he bawled.
“Doctor’s orders,” said the man. “He has asked me to run a mile every evening.”
“Oh, yes?” sneered the policeman. “Then why was your friend running?”
“His doctor too has ordered him to run,” said the man.
The policeman became red with anger.
“You think you’re very smart, don’t you?” he snarled. “But tell me, if you were only running for your health why didn’t you stop when you saw me running after you? And don’t tell me you didn’t see me chasing you… I know you did!”
“Of course, I knew you were running after me,” said the man.
“Then why didn’t you stop?” asked the policeman, triumphantly.
“It was stupid of me,” said the man, “but I thought you too had been ordered to run by your doctor.”
-This story of The Three Runners is of African origin.
KIDS AND HEALTH
What are food allergies?
Milk, eggs, soy, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, and shellfish are among the most common foods that cause allergies.
Young kids who have food allergies often outgrow their allergy — but not always. A lot depends on which foods someone is allergic to. Some foods are easier to outgrow than others. Fish and shellfish allergies usually develop later in life, and people are unlikely to outgrow them.
Food allergies can cause serious and even deadly reactions. So, it’s important to know how to recognize an allergic reaction and to be prepared if one happens.
What are the signs & symptoms of a food allergy?
With a food allergy, the body reacts as though that particular food product is harmful. As a result, the body’s immune system (which fights infection and disease) creates antibodies to fight the food allergen.
Every time the person eats (or, in some cases, handles or breathes in) the food, the body releases chemicals like histamine. This triggers allergic symptoms that can include wheezing. trouble breathing, coughing, hoarseness, throat tightness, belly pain and vomiting.
What happens in a food allergy reaction?
Most reactions happen pretty soon after eating a particular food. Everyone’s different, though. So although two people may have peanut allergy, for example, both may not have the same type of allergic reaction. And even the same person can have different reactions to a particular food, depending on factors like how much he or she was exposed to.
Reactions can:
Be very mild and only involve one part of the body, like hives on the skin; be more severe and involve more than one part of the body happen within a few minutes or up to 2 hours after contact with the food.
Food allergy reactions can affect any of these four areas of the body:
Skin: itchy red bumps (hives); eczema; redness and swelling of the face or extremities; itching and swelling of the lips, tongue, or mouth (skin reactions are the most common type of reaction).
Gastrointestinal tract: belly pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; respiratory system: runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath.
Cardiovascular system: light headedness or fainting.
Sometimes, an allergy can cause a severe reaction called anaphylaxis, even if a previous reaction was mild. Anaphylaxis might start with some of the same symptoms as a less severe reaction, but can quickly get worse. The person may have trouble breathing or pass out. More than one part of the body might be involved. If it isn’t treated, anaphylaxis can be life-threatening.
Avoiding food allergens
If you have food allergies of any kind, you’ll become an expert in reading food labels.
Makers of foods sold in the United States must state whether foods contain any of the top eight most common allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soy.
For more information on foods to avoid, check sites such as the Food Allergy Research and Education network (FARE).
Label information helps if you’re buying packaged foods, but what about when you eat away from home? If you have a food allergy, tell the people serving you know about it. Most of the time, you can’t stop there: Ask what each food on a menu or in the display case contains. If the people helping you don’t know, see if they can find out (from the chef or person who prepared the food).
RIDDLES
1. A word I know, six letters it contains, remove one letter and 12 remains, what is it?
2. What is full of holes but still holds water?
3. Turn us on our backs and open up our stomachs, and you will be the wisest but at the start a lummox. What are we?
4. What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
5. What’s black and white and blue?
6. Where can you find cities, towns, shops, and streets but no people?
ANSWERS
1. Dozens 2. Sponges 3. Books 4. The future. 5. A sad zebra. 6. A map
QUIZ
1. The humerus bone goes by what colloquial name?
2. Which is the biggest ocean in the world?
3. What is a young cow called?
4. What is the name of the Princess in Sleeping Beauty?
5. Which dinosaur is thought to have the largest bite of them all?
Answers
1. The funny bone 2. The Pacific Ocean 3. Calf 4. Princess Aurora 5. Tyrannosaurus-Rex
DID YOU KNOW?
1. Your fingernails grow faster when you are cold.
2. Applesauce was the first food eaten in space by astronauts.
3. Snails take the longest naps, some lasting as long as three years.
4. The average person spends two weeks of their life waiting at traffic lights.
5. Before 1913 parents could mail their kids to Grandma’s – through the postal service.
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