Change my location 
List All Categories
-
- children's health (6)
- medical trends (5)
- safety (5)
- cardiology (3)
- doctor-patient communication (3)
- environmental medicine (3)
- alternative medicine (2)
- food safety (2)
- infectious disease (2)
- women's health (2)
Baltimore Health Examiner
Showing entries for Category: childrens-health
Showing entries for Category: childrens-health
Of course babies feel pain
 photo courtesy of pediatrics.about.com It’s about time! You may find this hard to believe, but I was taught in medical school (in the 1990s, not the 1920s) that babies don’t feel pain. This most often came up when we were doing circumcisions and we, squeamish and sensitive medical students that we were, asked our supervisors why we couldn’t use pain medicines for those poor screaming babies. “They aren’t crying because of pain, they are crying because they don’t like being held down,” I was told over and over. Yeah, sure. It’s true that those precious baby boys started fussing when they were strapped to the immobilization board, but the anguished screams that came out of their tiny mouths when that Gomco clamp grabbed onto their penises was indescribable. How could anyone believe that they weren’t feeling pain? Nowadays, most doctors use topical or regional anesthetics when doing circumcisions, but this is a recent development. When I was pregnant 10 years ago and considering circumcision for my sex-unknown baby, I broached this issue with the pediatrician. I could feel the eye-rolling attitude when I asked about anesthesia, “I suppose we could work that out if we had to,” he said. Of course babies feel pain. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Dr. C. For more info: Check out the abstract from the JAMA article.
|
Subscribe
Categories:
18
Comments:
Link
New Car Seat Law: back in the booster for some gradeschoolers
 Less than 20% of 4-8 year olds currently use booster seats, according to one study. This law is designed to educate and encourage parents to change that statistic. Booster seats position the child so that the safety belt can maximally protect them in the event of a car crash -- the leading cause of death in young children. If your children thought they had "graduated" from a booster, they may resist this change. Tell them that a policeman will give you a ticket if they notice a young child in your car without a safety seat! You'll get a fine, but no points against your license. Honestly, I like this law. I have felt for years that my friends saw me as over-protective for keeping my kids in boosters until they turned eight. Now I have the law on my side! Be safe, Dr. C. www.insightmedicalconsultants.com (photo courtesy of www.nzherald.co.nz) For more info: check out Maryland Kids In Safety Seats
|
Lead poisoning in children
 Lead is a problem. It is in our environment, it doesn't decompose and it can cause big trouble. There is no known safe level of lead exposure. Chronic, low-level exposure is associated with decreased IQ, learning disabilities, school failure, delinquency and possibly even adult criminal behavior. Overall, the rate of childhood lead poisoning in Baltimore has been declining but the rate of poisoning in owner-occupied homes actually increased between 1995 and 2005, according to the Baltimore City Health Department. Homes were painted with lead-containing paint until it was banned in 1978. Many people in Baltimore, myself included, live in homes built and painted before 1978. If that paint is in good condition it should not pose a hazard. It is the cracking paint chips on the windowsill and the lead-paint dust that finds its way into the environment during construction projects that is dangerous. Children are most susceptible to the detrimental effects of lead. If your child is found to have an elevated lead level, it is likely due to exposure in your home. The Baltimore City Health Department has grants available to help lower income homeowners with lead removal projects. One thousand three hundred and fifty lead abatements were completed in Baltimore City between 2001 and 2005. Here are some ways to help protect your children from lead poisoning: • If you live in a home painted before 1978, be alert for cracking or chipping paint. Clean up paint chips immediately and don’t let your children play with them. • If you live in an older home and are doing construction, assume that the paint dust is hazardous. Contain the dust in the construction area as much as possible and clean it up thoroughly before letting your children into the area. • Consider checking your young children’s lead level after a construction project on an older home. • Ask your pediatrician or family doctor about checking your very young child for lead – usually at one and then again at two years of age. • Encourage a diet high in vitamin C, which can help reduce blood lead levels in both adults and children. Awareness and a little housecleaning can go a long way toward protecting you and your children from the hazards of lead. |
Childhood obesity - what parents can do
.jpg) One in five children in America is obese. And ten percent of those kids are less than five years old. What is going on? Is there anything that you can do? The bad news is that many of those children are already laying down cholesterol plaques in their arteries that will show up as heart attacks in another 50 years or so. The good news is there is a lot that you can do to prevent your child from becoming obese. • Breastfeed. Research suggests that breastfeeding exclusively for at least 4-6 months can help prevent infants from becoming obese children • Don’t offer sweets early. According to the Institute of Medicine, early introduction of sweet and fatty foods may contribute to obesity in older children • Control portion size. Rather than handing your child the picnic sized bag of chips to munch from, take out a hand full and put it on his plate • Encourage kids to stop eating when they are full. Banish the ‘clean your plate’ rule • Cut back on fruit juice. Juice is a closer relative to soda than you might think. Both are loaded with sugar. Occasional juice is fine, but encourage water or low fat milk when your child is thirsty • Keep healthy food options in the house. Children are predisposed to enjoy sweet and fatty foods. They need practice eating healthier alternatives in order for them to become part of their routine • Encourage family meals. Studies show that the more often families eat together, the more fruits, veggies, whole grains and calcium rich foods kids consume and the less junk food they eat • Avoid sodas. Sodas are empty calories that don’t fill you up. They are basically liquid sugar – treat them more like a dessert than a drink • Encourage physical activity. Try to make being active a part of your life. Walk to school, ride bikes to the store, play outside • Decrease screen time. Watching more than 2 hours of screen time per day is associated with obesity. This includes TV, computer time and video games • Don’t eat in front of the TV. Studies show that both kids and adults consume more calories when they eat in front of the TV. This is thought to be due to distraction, but all those food commercials probably don’t help • Model healthy behaviors. Your kids are always watching you. If vegetables are a part of your life, they will become part of your kids’ lives too We tend to worry about car wrecks and bike accidents and other threats to our kids’ health. Yet we may let them eat pizza and soda in front of the TV and watch a movie after hours of video game play. Childhood obesity is not just socially stigmatizing, it is the gateway to a lifetime of life-threatening health risks. You have the power. You are the parent. You can make a difference. (picture courtesy of tabletograve.com) |
Measles: a disease of the past or a disease of the future?
 Have you ever taken something for granted? Perhaps you assume that your job will last forever or that your knees will never give out. You get used to your TV turning on whenever you press the button and you just know that your dog will come when he is called. You know what else you probably take for granted? You probably assume that you will never get polio or mumps or measles. You might be wrong. Measles is a highly contagious disease that is transmitted through the air by respiratory droplets. It causes a fever, cough, runny eyes, and a rash, and can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis. There have been two recent U.S. outbreaks of measles, in California and Arizona, with at least 20 confirmed cases, according to the CDC. The California outbreak, which occurred in San Diego, began with a child who had traveled to Switzerland where an outbreak is ongoing. This might be just an infectious disease anomaly, except for one thing. Most of the infected people in the U.S. had not been vaccinated against measles. This is big. Concerns about autism, mercury exposure, and even the sheer number of recommended vaccines have taken root in the community. Some parents are opting not to vaccinate their children and they tend to argue vociferously for their right to refuse. While I am all for standing up for yourself in the medical system, this particular trend gives me pause. For many parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, everything turns out fine. Most of those children don’t come down with the dreaded diseases of our parents and grandparents, and do you know why? Those children don’t get sick because of something called herd immunity. We, the ‘herd,’ are generally immunized against measles, mumps and polio and so there isn’t much disease floating around for an unvaccinated person to contract. But what will happen as the proportion of unvaccinated people increases? More people will get these serious diseases, and they will sneeze and cough on the rest of us. In addition, as intercontinental travel becomes commonplace, unvaccinated people may find themselves in communities where polio and measles are prevalent. If they catch something, they will carry it with them on the airplane, into restaurants and into the school or workplace. Their personal health decision becomes our community health problem. This is the problem with the herd. The decisions of the few actually can affect the health of the many. I worry about what will happen as more and more people choose not to vaccinate their children. If this trend continues, the diseases of the past may just become the diseases of the future. (image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control) |
Lice: an elementary school plague
 Two years ago my daughter had lice. I tried to tell myself that it wasn't the end of the world, but I didn't really believe that. I was creeped out for weeks and it felt like I did more laundry in those two weeks than I had done in the preceding year. Stuffed animals were packed up in trash bags and quarantined for weeks and I covered my daughter's favorite TV watching couch in a sheet that I washed daily. I was obsessed with murdering every louse and every louse-to-be that had entered my house without permission. It was my temporary full-time job. A notice just came home from school this week: "There is lice in the grade." Oh no -- not again!! I checked my daughter's hair with trepidation. So far, so good. She is louse-free today, but the risk of recurrence is great. The earlier lice is discovered, the easier it is to treat. So if you have an elementary school child, you might want to take a peak at his or her hair shafts from time to time. It isn't live bugs that you are likely to see (although it is certainly possible to see one casually traversing your child's scalp). Rather, it is the eggs (called nits) that you can expect to find. These nits are small and tough to see until you know what to look for (see image above). One of my friends discovered that without her glasses her daughter didn't have lice, but with the aid of a bright light and her specs, suddenly the nits were obvious. Good lighting is important. Natural light is best, but a strong indoor light will work too. Put on your glasses if you need them and find a comfy spot because you're going to be there awhile. If you do it right, it should take you at least 15 minutes (often more for kids with long hair) to check the whole head thoroughly. Unless the hair is really short, you'll need clips to hold large sections of the hair out of your way as you examine the hair in one inch sections. The nits are usually whitish, tiny (smaller than a sesame seed), and oblong. They will be glued onto the hair shafts near to the scalp. Often a favorite nursery spot is the area near the ears, although the eggs can be found anywhere on the head. Unlike dandruff, they won't just flick off the hair. If you find any, take them off and discard them (a glass of water near your nit-picking station can be an effective grave site), so they won't hatch and worsen your problem. During the lice fiasco of 2006, there was one funny moment. One night I let my daughter watch TV as I checked her hair (a process that took over an hour every night for weeks). A nature show came on and what we saw made us both laugh hysterically. The show was about chimpanzees, and as I sat behind her picking nits from her hair we watched a momma chimp sit behind her daughter picking nits from her fur. It was humbling -- I guess we haven't progressed as far as we thought. There was one difference between us, though. At least I didn't eat them. (Image courtesy of D. Scott Smith, M.D.) |
Dr. Delia Chiaramonte
Dr. Delia Chiaramonte is the founder and president of Insight Medical Consultants, a private medical advising and patient advocacy company. She is board certified in family medicine and is Medical Director for Hospice of Baltimore.
Dr. Delia Chiaramonte is the founder and president of Insight Medical Consultants, a private medical advising and patient advocacy company. She is board certified in family medicine and is Medical Director for Hospice of Baltimore.
- Women: a new use for Viagra?
- Why can't we just leave our genitals alone?
- Of course babies feel pain
- Tomatoes are in, peppers are out
- Doctors and Patients on the Same Side of Medicare Payment Cuts
- Getting A Second Opinion
- A serious side effect of antibiotics: Could this happen to you?
- Cholesterol: should we be testing our children?
- Helping A Friend Through Cancer - Dos and Don'ts
- Having Fun on the 4th: remember fireworks safety
Search for more posts
subscribe to Baltimore Health Examiner's posts
Light, Cool, Refreshing Italian Salad
New Arena in Baltimore Could Mean A 6.5% Sales Tax
