Medications and Pregnancy
You may take certain over-the-counter supplements and medications without thinking twice. But when you’re pregnant, even drugs that you can buy without a prescription can affect the developing fetus. The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these safety guidelines about medications and pregnancy: Don’t take any medicine or herbal supplement without checking with your doctor. Try... Read more
Hair Beads Spurring Head Trauma in Kids
Although head trauma is a common injury seen in young children, U.S. doctors report on two recent cases of skull fracture with a surprising cause — hair beads. What’s worse, because the beads were translucent, they weren’t readily apparent on diagnostic CT scans, the physicians say. Study senior author Dr. Richard Anderson, a neurosurgeon at Columbia University College of Physicians... Read more
Keep Bathroom Chemicals Locked Up
The bathroom may be full of potential dangers and temptations for young children. Here are suggestions to prevent little hands from getting into bathroom chemicals or medications, courtesy of the National Safety Council: Always keep drugs stored in a medicine cabinet that is secured with a lock or child-proof latch. All medications should have a child-proof cap, and make sure it is secure and... Read more
What to Eat During Morning Sickness
When you’re pregnant and battling morning sickness, the last thing you may feel like doing is swallowing food. But it’s important that you and your baby continue eating. The American Pregnancy Association says these foods may help tame morning sickness: Foods that can be eaten cold, including cold sandwiches, raw vegetables and fruits such as lemon or ginger, or cold salad. Don’t... Read more
Signs of Celiac Disease in Children
Celiac disease is a painful digestive disorder that can be controlled by eliminating gluten from the diet. Gluten is found in foods that contain wheat, barley, rye or oats. The following symptoms may signal celiac disease in children, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians: Among babies, symptoms may include pain in the abdomen or diarrhea that may be bloody. Babies may also stop growing... Read more
Drug combo may help curb bedwetting
In children who continue to wet the bed despite standard treatment with desmopressin, adding the bladder-control drug tolterodine (Detrol) to therapy leads to a significant decrease in the risk of bedwetting, Missouri-based researchers have found. Desmopressin, lead researcher Dr. Paul F. Austin told Reuters Health, is the most frequently prescribed medication for bedwetting “and we, along with... Read more
Child-Care Relationships Tied to Kids’ Stress Levels
Bickering parents and poor caregiver relationships each increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol in children, new studies say. The two studies, published in the November/December issue of Child Development, show the biological effects stress has on children in these common situations. Long-term or frequent rises in cortisol can have negative health consequences. Research with animals and people... Read more
Is Your Child More Prone to Ear Infections?
Ear infections are common in children, and may occur for a variety of reasons. But certain factors — both environmental and beyond anyone’s control — may increase your child’s risk. The American Academy of Family Physicians lists these common risk factors for ear infections in children: Being around cigarette smoking. Having had ear infections before, frequent colds, or having... Read more
Pregnancy pounds predict kids’ weight as teens
Women who gain too much weight during pregnancy may not only have bigger babies, but bigger teenagers as well, a study suggests. Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that among nearly 12,000 children and teenagers they studied, those whose mothers gained more than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy were 42 percent more likely to be obese. The risk was independent of other factors... Read more
Obese Kids Have Old Arteries
Kids these days are 13 going on 45, at least when it comes to their arteries. According to research presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association’s annual scientific sessions in New Orleans, obese adolescents had arteries more representative of someone three decades older. “These data further illustrate the potential detrimental effects of obesity and its related risk factors, particularly... Read more