Healthy isn?t something you are or aren?t. It?s a hundred little things: eating a banana, walking in the park, putting a bandage on a boo-boo, playing tag, reading up on ways to keep you and your family well and safe. It?s a balance between living well and taking care, and you can start right where you are.
A blog by Christina Elston
Healthy isn't something you are or aren't. It's a hundred little things: eating a banana, walking in the park, putting a bandage on a boo-boo, playing tag, reading up on ways to keep you and your family well and safe. It's a balance between living well and taking care, and you can start right where you are.

Archive for July, 2012

Typical Toddler Behavior or ADHD? 10 Signs To Watch For

Monday, July 30th, 2012

When kids are 3 or 4 years old they often have trouble paying attention, but for some, this could be an early indication of trouble down the road. Around one in 11 school-aged children are now diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but as many as 40% show warning signs much sooner – as early as age 4.

Mark Mahone, Ph.D., director of neuropsychology at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, encourages parents to watch their young children’s behavior closely, as kids whose symptoms of ADHD begin in early childhood are at the highest risk for academic problems, including grade repetition.

Take note if your 3- to 4-year-old:

1. dislikes or avoids activities that require paying attention for more than one or two minutes;

2. loses interest and starts doing something else after engaging in an activity for a few moments;

3. talks a lot more and makes more noise than other children of the same age;

4. climbs on things when instructed not to do so;

5. cannot hop on one foot by age 4;

6. is nearly always restless, wanting to constantly kick or jiggle feet or twist around in his or her seat, or insists that he or she “must” get up after being seated more than a few minutes;

7. gets into dangerous situations because of fearlessness;

8. warms up too quickly to strangers;

9. is frequently aggressive with playmates, or has been removed from preschool or daycare because of aggression;

10. has been injured (received stitches or needed medical attention) because of moving too fast or running when instructed not to do so.

All of these signs have been associated with diagnoses of ADHD at school age, and parents who notice them in their child should consult their pediatrician or another developmental expert.

Posted in Children's Health | No Comments »

Cancer Risk Greater For Kids Abused By Their Parents

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

New Purdue research shows that frequent child abuse by a parent can increase a child's cancer risk in adulthood, and the effects are especially significant when mothers abuse their daughters and fathers abuse their sons. The research was conducted by Kenneth Ferraro, distinguished professor of sociology and director of Purdue's Center on Aging and the Life Course, and sociology and gerontology graduate student Patricia Morton. Their work was funded by the National Institute on Aging and is published online by the Journal of Aging and Health. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons)

Parents who swear at, hit, shove, or otherwise abuse their children are doing more than just immediate harm. They are also increasing the children’s risk of developing cancer later in life, say Purdue University researchers.

Looking at data from more than 2,100 adults who answered questions in the mid-1990s, the study found a link between abuse by parents – especially mothers abusing daughters and fathers abusing sons – and increased risk of cancer later in life.

Rather than asking participants directly about “abuse,” the survey included questions about how frequently a parent insulted or swore at them, refused to talk to them, threatened to hit them, threw something at them, pushed, grabbed, shoved, kicked, bit, punched, burned or scalded them as a child – and how often this happened. The more frequent and intense the abuse, the greater the cancer risk the study found.

“People often say that children are resilient and they’ll bounce back,” said lead author Kenneth Ferraro, a sociologist with Purdue’s Center on Aging and the Life Course, “but we found that there are events that can have long-term consequences on adult health.”

The authors aren’t certain why abuse by the same-sex parent had a greater effect on cancer risk, though they theorize the greater social bond between same-sex children and parents could be at work. “Other studies have shown that if a mother smokes, the daughter is more likely to smoke, and the same relationship is found when sons mirror their fathers’ behavior. More research is needed, but another possibility is that men may be more likely to physically abuse their sons, and mothers are more likely to physically abuse their daughters,” says co-author Patricia Morton, a gerontology graduate student at Purdue.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and published online July 4 in the Journal of Aging and Health.

Posted in child safety, Children's Health | No Comments »

Ready-For-School Allergy-Asthma Update

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

Every year, more than 15 million school days are lost to asthma and allergies, making back-to-school time a great time for a few reminders for parents:

• Have a plan. If your child has asthma or allergies of any kind, your child’s school needs to know. Make sure you have contacted the school and filled out paperwork that will make everyone aware of your child’s condition and give your child access to needed medications on campus.

• Have medications on hand. If your child needs an inhaler for asthma, or an EpiPen or antihistamines for allergies, make sure those are always available at the school. “They should have it with them. It shouldn’t be across campus with a nurse,” says pediatric allergist Roger Katz, M.D., a clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine with a private practice in Santa Monica. He says that delays in getting these medicines could be life threatening.

• Remind kids and school personnel about food allergies. Even children who know what they aren’t supposed to eat might be tempted by food offered by a classmate.

While fall means the start of gym classes that could aggravate exercise-induced asthma, and Santa Ana winds that bring extra pollen from the high deserts to torment allergy sufferers, there are also new tests and treatments on the horizon.

One, called FENO (fractional exhaled nitric oxide), allows doctors to easily gauge inflammation in the airways. Patients exhale into a machine that measures the amount of nitric oxide (NO) they exhale, which goes up when inflammation is present. Becoming more widespread, FENO is best for ages 6 and up, is covered by some insurance companies (and costs around $50 without coverage), and Katz says his Santa Monica practice has had it available for about 18 months.

For children with allergies, identifying the sources of their suffering is now also much easier, as skin testing for allergy has become more accurate. Experts have now identified the exact antigens for things like cat, dust mite, grass, pollen bee venom and other allergies, allowing for quicker and more accurate diagnosis. “All of these are better today than they were five years ago,” Katz says.

Easier treatment of some of these allergies is also on the way. Instead of allergy shots to help kids become less sensitive to allergens like dust mites and grasses, doctors will be able to provide “oral desensitization,” placing small, controlled amounts of the allergen under the tongue to build tolerance. Katz expects these therapies to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and on the market in the next six months.

In a study published July 19 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center reported that this type of therapy also showed promise in children with egg allergies (which as many as 3% of children have by age 3). During their study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, they found that 11 of 35 patients treated with egg immunotherapy experienced complete, long-term elimination of allergic reactions, and the remaining 24 were able to tolerate higher doses of egg with mild or no symptoms – offering a protection against serious allergic reactions from accidental exposure.

They note, however, that the treatment is still considered experimental, and should yet be used outside medical research studies.

 

 

Posted in Allergies & Asthma, Children's Health | No Comments »

‘Early Full Term’ Birth Linked With Lower Reading and Math Scores

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

The link between preterm birth and risk of lower academic achievement has been established in a number of studies. But new research suggests that – when it comes to brain development – even for full-term babies, every week counts. Scientists have now found that babies born at the earlier end of the “full-term” range are more likely to have lower reading and math scores in third grade than those born just a few weeks later.

Researchers from Columbia University, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine started with birth records for all singleton babies born to mothers residing in New York City from 1988 to 1992. They then matched the records for those born between 37 and 41 weeks’ gestation (the range considered “full term”) with those same children’s third grade reading and math scores on standardized tests administered in New York City public schools.

In all, they matched records for more than 128,000 children, a group large enough to add significance to their findings. In general, test scores in both reading and math improved for each additional week babies spent in the womb. The most significant deficits were found in children born at 37 and 38 weeks.

Children born at 37 weeks’ gestation had a 14% greater risk of having mild reading impairment, 23% greater risk of having moderate reading impairment and 33% greater risk of having severe reading impairment than those born at 41 weeks. They also had a 16% greater risk of mild and 19% greater risk of moderate math impairment.

This was true even when researchers took a host of other factors that could hamper academic achievement – from the number of years a mother spent in school to lack of prenatal care, substance abuse, history of smoking, race/ethnicity and characteristics of the neighborhood where the mother resided – into account.

The study’s authors note that babies’ brains are growing rapidly between 37 and 41 weeks’ gestation, increasing their gray matter 50% and their white matter threefold. Being in the uterus, they say, likely supports this development. “Early term birth,” as the authors call it, could disrupt this growth. Based on their findings, the authors have two take-home messages for parents and doctors.

First, women and doctors planning early deliveries for nonmedical reasons should consider the potential impact of their decisions – which, as this study shows, lasts at least into elementary school. And second, pediatricians and parents should watch “early term” children in case they need extra educational support.

The study was published online July 2, and in the August issue of Pediatrics.

Posted in Children's Health, Pregnancy and Childbirth | No Comments »

Have No Fear – And You Might Have Shorter Labor

Monday, July 9th, 2012

While mothers are generally a brave lot, the prospect of becoming mothers – specifically childbirth – terrifies some women. And a study out this summer shows that these women tend to spend longer in labor than women approaching delivery without fear.

Norwegian researchers surveyed more than 2,200 women pregnant with a single child who intended to deliver vaginally. In response to a questionnaire, they determined that around 7.5% of the women had fear of childbirth.

When the women had their babies, those with a fear of childbirth labored more than 90 minutes longer on average than those who were not afraid. Even when researchers accounted for factors such as whether the women had previously given birth, epidural analgesia, instrumental vaginal delivery and labor induction, women with fear still labored an average of 47 minutes longer.

Overall, average labor lasted 8 hours for women with fear of childbirth, and 6 hours and 28 minutes for women without. Women with fear of childbirth were also more likely to have their babies delivered by instrumental vaginal delivery or emergency cesarean.

Fear of childbirth has been attributed to young maternal age, being a first-time mother, pre-existing psychological issues, lack of social support and a history of abuse.

Experts say the connection between fear of childbirth, longer labor, and increased risk of obstetrical interventions needs to be explored further, so doctors and midwives can give pregnant women the support and advice they need. The study was published June 27 in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

 

Posted in Pregnancy and Childbirth | No Comments »