(From the American Academy of Pediatrics**) Children can get very sick if they come in contact with medicines, household products, pesticides, chemicals, cosmetics or plants. This can happen at any age and can cause serious reactions. However, most children who come in contact with these things are not poisoned, And most who are poisoned are not […]
Every so often the national media is alive with stories about one medical issue or another. More often than not, it is presented as a crisis – requiring immediate attention and renewed national focus. For those of us in the field of emergency pediatric care the risk of choking has always been on the front […]
This is an area of concern that ranks among the highest when I speak with parents and care providers. It is always valuable to review the recommendations to lower risk in the home and elsewhere. The following set of recommendations are endorsed by The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Red Cross, and the Center for Disease Control for […]
It sometimes takes a well-publicized drowning death to get parents and care providers re-focused on what remains a major health risk to infants & children. Well over one thousand drowning deaths occur annually to children in this country. This serves a reminder that we cannot be overly lax when it comes to water safety. We know from statistical […]
Having been very involved in both of my daughters’ extracurricular activities, I found that basic first aid is more than helpful, it’s a must! In our case, my kids played soccer and softball, rode bikes, zoomed on skateboards and much more. On occasion, one or the other took a tumble from that bike or skateboard, […]
An interesting study published by The American Medical Association strongly suggests that some allergies occur when babies are sensitized by foods passed along in breast milk. In order for a food allergy to develop, the person must be exposed (sensitized) to the food in some form. For example, many children who have peanut allergies have their […]
It appears that we can add a reduced asthma risk to the growing list of benefits of breast feeding. A recent Australian study strongly suggests a decreased incidence of asthma in babies breast fed for at least 4 months. The study involved 2,602 infants and followed their asthma-related health for 6 years. An important outcome of this […]
The documented benefits of breast-feeding are well known by most expectant and new parents. Yet, a new study just released in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, suggests even more good news about breast-fed babies…a reduced chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Perhaps the strongest message was the emphasis on sleeping position, reminding parents that […]
A recently published article in the journal Pediatrics reminds us all that heat stress from enclosed vehicles can cause significant temperature rise and put infants & children at risk for hyperthermia. The effects of high internal automobile temperatures takes young lives every year in the U.S. In 2016, the number of deaths from heat stroke rose […]
A well established study suggests that tap water accounts for 7-17% of all scald burns requiring hospitalization in children. Toddlers and pre-school children were the most frequent victims. In this study, 45% of the scalding injuries occurred when the unsupervised victim or peer turned on the tap water. Home testing of bath water temperatures was […]