Home Care of Kids With Complex Health Care Needs
Monday April 30, 2012
There are more than 10 million children in the United States with special health care needs, including those who:
were born prematurely
have congenital genetic and metabolic disorders
have neurologic disorders
have sequelae of ... Read More
Anti-Vax Rewrite - Vaccines Based on 100 Years of Medical Fraud
Sunday April 29, 2012
Natural News posted an "interesting" article, claiming that "Vaccines have been based on medical fraud for over a hundred years."
It's an impressive looking article, with lots of dates and a ... Read More
Asthma at School - Kids with Inhalers
Saturday April 28, 2012
Should your child with asthma carry his own asthma inhaler at school?
If he doesn't, he will likely have to go to the nurse's office every time he needs it.
On the ... Read More
Saturday Safety Roundup
Saturday April 28, 2012
This week's Saturday Safety Roundup includes stories of:
a 22-month-old in Erin, Wisconsin who had one foot and several toes on her other foot amputated when her grandmother backed over her ... Read More
Stories about Vaccine Preventable Diseases
Friday April 27, 2012
As National Infant Immunization Week comes to an end, this is a great time to read some stories about vaccine preventable diseases for a little reminder about why we encourage ... Read More
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
Friday April 27, 2012
Tomorrow is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, "a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of ... Read More
World Primary Immunodeficiency Week
Thursday April 26, 2012
This is World Primary Immunodeficiency Week, a great time to learn more about primary immunodeficiencies, "disorders in which part of the body's immune system is missing or does not function ... Read More
Why So Many Pertussis Outbreaks?
Wednesday April 25, 2012
Ever since the 2010 California pertussis outbreak, in which there were 9,154 cases of pertussis, the most in 63 years, and 10 infants died, many people, especially parents, are wondering ... Read More
National Safe Kids Week 2012
Wednesday April 25, 2012
National Safe Kids Weeks was introduced by Safe Kids USA in 1988 as a way "to help parents and caregivers understand a different part of childhood injury prevention."
The spotlight of ... Read More
Hand Sanitizer High - Hype or Hazard
Wednesday April 25, 2012
A report about teens getting drunk on alcohol based hand sanitizers likely has a lot of parents shaking their heads.
Is this really something to be worried about?
Since many of these ... Read More
World Meningitis Day 2012
Tuesday April 24, 2012
Today is World Meningitis Day and is your chance to join the Confederation of Meningitis Organizations (CoMo) to encourage "individuals, families and communities to learn the signs and symptoms ... Read More
Publication Bias in Autism Studies
Monday April 23, 2012
A new meta-analysis study that will appear in the May issue of Pediatrics, "Pharmacologic Treatment of Repetitive Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Evidence of Publication Bias," suggests that there is ... Read More
Saturday Safety Roundup
Saturday April 21, 2012
This week's Saturday Safety Roundup includes:
a 2-month-old in Ridgeville, South Carolina who died when he was mauled to death by a newly adopted retriever-lab mix as he sat in a ... Read More
New HPV Vaccine Mandate
Friday April 20, 2012
The first HPV vaccine mandate didn't go so well.
Governor Rick Perry signed an executive order in 2007 that created a mandate for 6th grade girls in Texas to get the ... Read More
Support the Prevention and Public Health Fund
Friday April 20, 2012
The Prevention and Public Health Fund does a lot of things that most parents likely support, including:
supporting breastfeeding mothers and supporting hospitals in promoting breastfeeding
tracking exposures and health effects that ... Read More
PowerTalk 21 - Talk about Underage Drinking
Friday April 20, 2012
Tomorrow is the national day to talk with your kids about alcohol - PowerTalk 21.
PowerTalk 21, on April 21, is when "parents, kids and communities take positive steps to open ... Read More
National Day of Silence
Thursday April 19, 2012
Tomorrow is the National Day of Silence, "a day of action in which students across the country vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing ... Read More
2011 Measles Report from the CDC
Thursday April 19, 2012
The CDC has posted their Morbidity and Mortality Report summarizing the 2011 measles outbreaks in the United States.
Although I have already reported on most of this information in the past, ... Read More
Update on the Latest Salmonella Outbreak
Wednesday April 18, 2012
The CDC first announced a multistate outbreak of Salmonella that was possibly linked to sushi, sashimi, or similar foods on April 4.
It is now known that a frozen raw yellowfin ... Read More
Social Stressors and Obesity in Young Girls
Wednesday April 18, 2012
Although everyone seems to have their own theory for why kids are overweight, including that they are eating extra large portions, drinking too many sugary drinks, watching too many videogames, ... Read More
Update on the Chicken Pox Outbreak in Florida
Wednesday April 18, 2012
The Gainesville Sun first reported on the outbreak of chicken pox in Florida on April 10, when they noted that there were 65 cases of chicken pox in Alachua County, ... Read More
PURPLE Crying Caps for Babies
Tuesday April 17, 2012
Babies typically get all kinds of things in their first year, including many must have items and others that you just want.
A purple baby cap is perhaps one of the ... Read More
Four-Year-Old Shoots Self in Texas
Tuesday April 17, 2012
A four-year-old in Tyler, Texas shot himself in the head with his mother's gun on Sunday. He was pronounced dead when he arrived at East Texas Medical Center.
The preschooler found ... Read More
Decreasing Pain from Shots
Tuesday April 17, 2012
Parents would love the idea of pain free shots. Kids too.
A new study that will appear in the May issue of Pediatrics, "Effective Analgesia Using Physical Interventions for Infant Immunizations," ... Read More
Five-Year-Old Overdoses on Cold Medicines
Monday April 16, 2012
It was with the idea that it would decrease side effects for infants and toddlers and prevent overdoses that new rules and recommendations were developed for over-the-counter cough and cold ... Read More
New Study about the Choking Game
Monday April 16, 2012
The CDC defines the choking game as "as self-strangulation or strangulation by another person with the hands or a noose to achieve a brief euphoric state caused by cerebral hypoxia."
First ... Read More
Four Kids Get Sick Drinking Raw Milk in Oregon
Sunday April 15, 2012
Four children are sick in Oregon as part of an outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections.
The Oregon Public Health Division, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and several local health departments ... Read More
Sunday Shooting Review - More Everyday Victims
Sunday April 15, 2012
Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, recently stated that the media is "ignoring many other violent crimes that happen in the United States every day," instead choosing to ... Read More
Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Raw Scraped Ground Tuna
Saturday April 14, 2012
An outbreak of Salmonella that has now spread to 20 states and has gotten at least 116 people sick, including 12 people who have required hospitalization, has been linked to ... Read More
Saturday Safety Roundup
Saturday April 14, 2012
This week's Saturday Safety Roundup includes a story of:
a 10-year-old in Spokane, Washington who shot herself in the leg with her father's service revolver. Her father is a veteran Spokane ... Read More
Drop-side Crib Recall
Friday April 13, 2012
It has been a while since a drop-side crib has been recalled. I'm not sure if that is because most of them have already been recalled or because of the ... Read More
CDC Report or April Fools Joke?
Thursday April 12, 2012
The latest report Morbidity and Mortality Report from the CDC almost reads like an April Fools joke.
Why? There are stories about:
a bat on a commercial airliner causing the plane to ... Read More
Chicken Pox Outbreak in Florida
Wednesday April 11, 2012
We have, unfortunately, almost been getting used to reports of whooping cough and measles outbreaks these days. Now, to add to the reports of outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases, we ... Read More
New Study on Reducing Childhood Obesity
Wednesday April 11, 2012
A new study concludes that "Aggressive efforts are needed to reverse the positive energy imbalance underlying the childhood obesity epidemic."
The study, "Reaching the Healthy People Goals for Reducing Childhood Obesity," ... Read More
Good News and Bad News about Teen Birth Rates
Tuesday April 10, 2012
There is some good news and some bad news in the latest report from the CDC/National Center for Health Statistics about teen pregnancy.
First the good news - the U.S. teen ... Read More
Yankees Pitcher Gets Hurt... On Trampoline
Monday April 9, 2012
The American Academy of Pediatrics has long advised against the use of home trampolines, citing a high number of trampoline-related injuries, especially when more than one person jumps on the ... Read More
Pregnancy and New Risks for Autism
Monday April 9, 2012
The recent CDC report on autism rates, which found that one in 88 children may have autism, left many people asking why.
Three studies published in Nature may provide one answer, ... Read More
Holiday Safety - Easter and Passover Food Safety
Saturday April 7, 2012
The USDA and CDC offer a lot of tips to help keep your kids safe this week, including that:
parents should not give kids baby birds to young children for Easter, ... Read More
National Window Safety Week 2012
Saturday April 7, 2012
Today is the last day of National Window Safety Week 2012.
Observed each year during the first full week of April, National Window Safety Week "is designed to heighten the awareness ... Read More
World Health Day 2012
Saturday April 7, 2012
World Health Day marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization on April 7, 1948 - 64 years ago.
The topic of this year's World Health Day is ... Read More
Flu Season Update
Saturday April 7, 2012
"Late" and "mild" are the two words most often used to describe this year's flu season.
"Lingering" might be another one that we end up using.
Even though the CDC reports this ... Read More
Saturday Safety Roundup
Saturday April 7, 2012
This week's Saturday Safety Roundup includes stories of:
a 4-year-old in Henderson, Iowa who was startled by an approaching ATV at a BBQ on a farm ran in front of the ... Read More
The Latest Salmonella Outbreak
Friday April 6, 2012
The CDC is reporting that 100 people have gotten sick with Salmonella in 19 states since January 28, including 10 people who required hospitalization. The youngest to get sick was ... Read More
Bully Finally Gets a PG-13 Rating
Thursday April 5, 2012
Many people thought we would have to settle for the Common Sense Media "Pause 13+" rating when the Weinstein Company said that they would release Bully without an MPAA rating.
It ... Read More
Meningococcal Disease Outbreak in Oklahoma
Thursday April 5, 2012
The Neisseria meningitidis bacteria can cause fatal infections that quickly progress and are difficult to treat.
A new report by the CDC, "Outbreak of Meningococcal Disease Associated with an Elementary School ... Read More
NPHW Focus on Communicable Diseases
Wednesday April 4, 2012
Today, National Public Health Week is focusing on communicable diseases.
Specifically, today's message is that "Properly washing your food and hands before cooking and eating will help prevent the spread of ... Read More
Stinky Urine and Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms
Wednesday April 4, 2012
How can you tell if your child has a urinary tract infection?
Older preschool and school age children, often have classic symptoms, such as painful urination, urinating more frequently, having accidents, ... Read More
Are your preschoolers playing outside enough?
Tuesday April 3, 2012
Physical activity, including active free play, is important to keep kids healthy and prevent childhood obesity.
Are your preschoolers playing outside enough?
A new study that will appear in the Archives of ... Read More
Development After an Autism Diagnosis - Some Kids are Bloomers
Monday April 2, 2012
The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism defines autism as "a developmental issue that makes dealing with social situations and sensory information harder than for the typical person."
And it has a ... Read More
Rashes from Caterpillars
Sunday April 1, 2012
Most parents want their kids to get outside and play.
Getting in touch with nature and learning more about the flora and fauna around their home is also a great idea.
Hopefully ... Read More