Parenting
Posted on July 1, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
A staggering percentage of kids in the United States have food allergies, including severe and life-threatening reactions to foods, according to new findings from an online survey. One in 12 kids in the U.S. may have a food allergy, or anywhere between 2 and 8 of every 100 kids in the country.
The study authors surveyed a nationally representative sample of almost 40,000 U.S. adults who lived with a child under 18. The adults filled out online surveys about allergies based on a single child in their household, indicating whether the child had any signs or symptoms of an allergy.
Almost 8 percent of the kids had a food allergy or symptoms that indicated a food allergy, results showed. Many of the allergies were extremely severe, causing a child’s blood pressure to drop or cutting off a child’s airway. About 2 in 5 kids who had allergic reactions to food experienced these severe types of reaction.
The survey showed that kids were most commonly allergic to peanuts, milk, and shellfish. Researchers also found that black and Asian children had higher chances of having an allergy than white kids, but that they were less likely to have that allergy diagnosed by a doctor.
Does your child have a food allergy?
Posted on June 29, 2011 in Parenting, Recent Studies
A child dies every five days in portable pools during warm-weather months, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. The study tracks 209 deaths and 35 near-drownings of children under 12 from 2001 through 2009. Eighty-one percent of those deaths occurred during summer months.
Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus and Independent Safety Consulting in Rockville, MD focused on portable pools for the study. The study authors suggested that because the pools are portable, cheap, and readily available, many parents neglect to develop safety precautions. Although permanent pools often have alarms, fencing and removable or lockable ladders, those safety methods aren’t always affordable or available for those who purchase portable pools.
The study points to data that children were supervised by adults in only 43% of the drownings and near-drownings, and that most adults were home when the accidents occurred. Researchers encouraged constant supervision, even when children are close by.
Easy steps to prevent pool-side tragedies include blocking access to the pool by removing the portable ladder. Emptying the pool when it’s not in use will prevent children from wandering into the dangerous area. Parents should make sure kids wear life jackets when they’re in or by the pool. Covering the pool may not be enough of a safety measure, since kids can easily maneuver around the obstacle.
How can you reduce portable pool safety risks?
Posted on June 26, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
A recent article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine sheds light on a frightening statistic: only 1 in 5 people who misuse opioid painkillers get them from doctors, and 69% never get the drugs from medical sources. The data comes from the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NHSDUH) from 2006-2008.
Researchers interviewed more than 3,000 people over the age of 18 who reported taking an opioid painkiller that was not prescribed for them for nonmedical reasons over the two-year study window. Most of the study participants had obtained their drugs from friends, family, or dealers, not doctors. Prior research supports this conclusion.
The younger drug misusers were less likely to get their drugs from doctors than older and middle-aged patients: 77% of 18-to-25-year-olds got their painkillers exclusively from non-medical sources, whereas 52% of those older than 50 obtained drugs from non-medical sources.
Current strategies to prevent opioid misuse have focused on tracking prescription patterns for doctors and patients’ medical records. However, the new data suggests that it might be more worthwhile to concentrate on other supply sources, like dealers, friends and family.
Do you know someone impacted by opioid misuse?
Posted on June 24, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Holistic Remedies, Parenting, Women's Health
Prenatal vitamins taken three months before conception and in the first month of pregnancy may help ward off autism, according to a new report in the July issue of Epidemiology.
Taking vitamins during this period may reduce the risk of a child developing autism or autism spectral disorders by up to 40 percent. The researchers enrolled 288 children with autism and 144 with autism spectrum disorders and compared them to 278 children who were developing normally. Mothers of the children were surveyed about their consumption of vitamins before and during pregnancy, and blood was drawn for genomic analysis. The mothers of the children with autism were less likely than those of the typically developing children to report having taken prenatal vitamins during the three months before conception and the first month of pregnancy.
In mothers and children with gene variants that affect folate metabolism, not taking prenatal vitamins before conception was associated with an up to sevenfold increase in the risk of autism, the researchers found. Prenatal vitamins are rich in folate.
Posted on June 16, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies, The Environment
A new study review points out that sun exposure earlier in life—from infancy through adolescence—could lead to melanoma and other skin cancers later in life. The review is published in the July issue of Pediatrics.
Researchers point out that young skin has lower levels of the skin-protecting melanin and a thinner outer layer that allows UV rays to penetrate more easily the melanin-producing cells called melanocytes. One study included in the review finds that 1 in 33 babies born today will develop melanoma during their lives, versus 1 in 1,500 babies born in 1935.
In order to protect babies from the harmful rays, the American Association of Pediatrics advises parents to keep kids 6 months or younger out of the sun entirely. As babies get older, the association recommends that parents dress infants in brimmed hats and sun-protective clothing. They also suggest that parents apply sunscreen to any patches of exposed skin and minimize the child’s exposure to sunshine during the midday hours.
Sun-related skin changes could occur as early as the first year of life, the review found. Damage to skin cells sustained early in life could seems to be associated with different cell changes and an earlier diagnosis of melanoma than exposure in the adult years, the article points out.
What other steps can you take to reduce infant sun exposure?
Posted on June 15, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Holistic Remedies, Parenting, Recent Studies
A new study suggests that eating baked goods containing milk may help kids get over milk allergies. Allergic children given cooked milk saw a decrease in allergy symptoms than children who simply avoided milk products, researchers reported.
Milk allergies differ from lactose intolerance, which is an inability to digest milk products. Kids with allergies can react to the proteins in milk and cheese with symptoms ranging from mild itching to potentially deadly anaphylactic shock.
In the study, researchers gave 88 milk-allergic children between 2 and 17 years old baked goods that included milk, and compared them to a group of 60 allergic children who strictly avoided milk products. About half of the children were able to consume items containing milk products by the end of the study.
The study also may help distinguish between severe allergies and mild ones. Kids who were able to tolerate the muffins were more likely to grow out of their allergies.
Would you allow your child with milk allergies to take part in this study?
Posted on June 8, 2011 in Business/Law, Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to replace the food pyramid with a plate icon in the upcoming week, a source told CNN Saturday. The new image is intended to help make Americans make healthier choices with food.
The Food Guide Pyramid was introduced in 1992, and was replaced in 2005 by MyPyramid. The original version displays grains, vegetables and fruit at the bottom of the pyramid, suggesting that they should be eaten often. Foods to be eaten sparingly, like meats and dairy, were found towards the top of the pyramid. The 2005 version had vertical, rather than horizontal, blocks representing the various food groups. It also displayed a figure stepping up the side of the pyramid as a reminder to exercise.
The pyramid image has been criticized as confusing for consumers, as well as not providing important distinctions between fruits and vegetables and poultry and red meat. The USDA said in a statement this week that the new food icon would be “part of a comprehensive nutrition communication initiative that provides consumers with easy-to-understand recommendations, a new website with expanded information, and other tools and resources.”
Posted on May 30, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
If more energy is what your child wants, steer them towards the world’s most natural beverage: water. Most children and adolescents should not drink energy drinks and do not need sports drinks, according to a report published in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal.
Energy drinks have been linked to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure in addition to sleep disturbances and anxiety. Although the drinks promise increased mental alertness and concentration, they also include potentially dangerous stimulants like guarana, ginseng, and taurine.
The report says that young athletes who participate in vigorous exercise or exercise for a prolonged period of time could benefit from sports drinks. Everyone else should eat a well-balanced diet to obtain the vitamins and minerals they need. Kids who routinely exercise should rely on water before and after, and have the recommended intake of juice and low-fat milk at meals.
The study authors said that sports drinks contain calories that most kids don’t need, and could contribute to obesity and tooth decay. A report released in 2007 by the Institute of Medicine recommended schools to limit the amount of sugars found in food and drinks and restrict the use of sports drinks to use by athletes during prolonged physical activity.
Posted on May 26, 2011 in Business/Law, Parenting, Technology
The Consumer Union is urging stronger protections for underage users of Facebook, worried that preteens may not understand the implications of sharing photos and other personal information. In a letter to Facebook, the Consumer Union requested that the social media giant beef up security measures to keep kids under 13 off the site.
Facebook’s current policy is that users must be at least 13 years old, but the rule is rarely followed. Consumer Reports conducted a survey last month that found as many as 7.5 million children under 13 had active accounts. Federal law places restrictions on websites that collect personal information from preteens.
According to an article published in Fortune magazine, Mark Zuckerberg thinks the site should be available to children younger than 13 as an educational tool. He told the magazine that education should be started at a “really, really young age.”
A congressional hearing on the topic of underage Facebook users found that it was “indefensible” that Facebook had only 100 employees monitoring the activities of millions of users. The company depends on other users to report underage users. Consumers Union called for Facebook to make the default setting for underage users “friends only,” instead of automatically making information public to all 16,900 people on the site.
Posted on May 20, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
Several reports of sudden death among children taking medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, have caused concern among health officials and parents in recent years. Now, a new study published in Pediatrics suggests that the drugs don’t appear to put kids at risk for heart problems or death.
Around 2.7 million children and teenagers take the drug, which is essentially a stimulant that can raise blood pressure and heart rate. Novartis’ Ritalin and Shire’s Adderall are two of the most commonly used ADHD drugs.
The new study is funded by Shire, but based on claims data used from Medicaid and a commercial insurer. More than 240,000 kids aged 3 to 17 who take ADHD drugs were followed for around 135 days by the researchers.
These children were compared to a group of 965,000 who did not take the drugs but were of a similar age and gender and came from the same states as the users. Rates of death “from any cause,” which were the most reliable numbers in the insurance data, were 179 per 1,000,000 kids per year in the ADHD group and 300 per 1,000,000 in the comparison group.
This data is in line with two previous studies that did not find a link between ADHD medication use and sudden death or cardiac arrest. The FDA plans to release results from a large safety study on stimulants.
Do you know someone who has suffered or benefited from ADHD medication?
