Pediatrics Blog

This is Food Allergy Awareness Week, and its a great time to learn more about food allergies, both for parents of kids with food allergies and people who are simply around kids with food allergies.

It is also a good time to clear up many food allergy myths, including the myth that food allergies aren't serious or that they aren't real. Unfortunately, there are about 150 deaths a year from severe allergic reactions to foods each year, including many children.

That makes learning about managing food allergies and preventing food allergies important.

Related:
Symptoms of Food Allergies
Food Allergy Screening Quiz
Oral Allergy Syndrome
Allergy Testing

The "danger" of bounce houses was recently in the news. Although millions of children safely have fun in bounce houses, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported that injuries related to bounce houses and inflatable slides are on the rise.

You don't want your child to live in a bubble or walk around wearing a helmet at all times, but remember that the more chances you take, the more likely your child will be injured or killed by an accident.

Learn more about some of the more hidden dangers to your child's safety, such as playing in a bounce house unsupervised, while older kids or adults are also bouncing, or in a bounce house that is simply unsafe.

Many vaccines aren't made in the United States anymore. And with all of the recalled products that have been made in China recently, including pet food, toys, heparin, and toothpaste, it is easy to see why some parents might be concerned about their children's vaccines.

You can be reassured that the vaccines in the yearly United States Childhood Immunization Schedule are made in countries where the FDA can closely monitor the manufacturing process of the vaccines for safety though. For example, Rotarix, the rotavirus vaccine that was approved in April 2008 by the FDA, is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in Rixensart, Belgium. Most others are made in Germany, France, Canada, and in the United States.

Related:
Vaccine Preventable Illnesses
Vaccine Safety
Immunization Quiz
Vaccine Information Statements

May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month and is a great time to learn more about asthma and allergies, including what happens during an asthma attack.

Does your child have hard-to-control asthma or hard-to-control allergies?

We are finally learning more about all of the recent measles cases that have been occurring around the United States. Although there have only been 64 cases, that is the highest number of cases that we have seen in the US in seven years, which is especially troubling for a disease that was supposedly eliminated here in 2000.

According to the CDC, as of April 25, 2008, there have been cases of measles in New York City (22 cases), Arizona (15), California (12), Michigan and Wisconsin (four each), Hawaii (three), and Illinois, New York state, Pennsylvania, and Virginia (one each).

April 27 to May 3 is Cover the Uninsured Week, a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Although being able to visit to their pediatrician when their child has a fever, earache, cough, or cold, etc., is something many parents expect, for the millions of children without health insurance, seeing a doctor when they are sick is a luxury they sometimes can't afford. Or they have to go to the emergency room to get care.

Health awareness months are a great way to learn more about specific conditions, safety hazards, and symptoms that are highlighted each month.

For example, April is National Facial Protection Month, and while fortunately that doesn't mean that our kids have to wear gas masks to school, it is a good time to remember to make sure that they wear mouth guards, helmets, and protective eyewear when playing sports.

The American Heart Association (AHA) published a new scientific statement about how best to identify and monitor children with ADHD who may have heart disease and could be at risk for sudden death if they were started on a stimulant medication, such as Adderall or Ritalin.

This follows the FDA adding a warning to stimulants in 2007, which states that there have been reports of "sudden death in patients who have heart problems or heart defects" and "increased blood pressure and heart rate." This warning had hopefully already led pediatricians to try and identify kids who are at an increased risk from being on a stimulant, so they could try alternative treatments, such as behavior therapy.

The guidelines are not without controversy though, as they were published without consulting the American Academy of Pediatrics, whose members would be responsible for following the guidelines. The AAP describes the AHA guidelines as "cautious" and "may not be feasible."

The news and other media are often quick to over-hype any problems with vaccines, whether they have been proven or not. They will even parade celebrity 'experts' on their shows, who may influence a parent's decision on whether or not to influence their own kids, even though the experts have no expertise in pediatric infectious disease. They also have no research to predict what the consequences will be if more parents follow their recommendations to stop or delay vaccinating their children.

If the media were as quick to publicize some of these possible consequences, we may already know what is happening. But few parents are aware of the many current measles outbreaks we are facing.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were four large outbreaks of Salmonella infections in the United States during 2007. And unfortunately, there is another one right now that may be linked to cereal from Malt-O-Meal unsweetened Puffed Rice Cereals and unsweetened Puffed Wheat Cereals.

Twenty-one people have gotten sick with Salmonella symptoms in eleven states in this current outbreak, following a recall of the Malt-O-Meal products.