Tired of facing another lice infestation at your child’s school? Read Dr. Greene’s article on treating head lice and find out how to celebrate the “Great Lice Adventure” in your community.
The October 1999 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine reports success with giving preschool and school-age children a free pass to get out of bed once each night. Originator, clinical psychologist Dr. Patrick C. Friman, gave...
This morning I watched a school bus full of children stop suddenly. Because it was a school bus, the kids were not wearing seat belts. Should this be changed? The National Transportation Safety Board has been considering this question carefully for...
Pediatric News (33(8):2, 1999), has reported on a significant new study coming out of Finland. Up until now, the relationship between cow's milk and type 1 diabetes has been controversial. This is the first carefully designed, controlled...
When children were diagnosed with chronic sinus infections, they were treated with longer and stronger antibiotics. A study in the September 1999 issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings turns this practice on its head. 202 out of the 210 people with...
The events that result in adult diseases often occur during childhood. The risk of osteoporosis later in life, for instance, is related to the amount of calcium someone receives in childhood. New evidence suggests that the risk of Alzheimer's...
You can't see it. You can't smell it. You can't taste it. You can't feel it. But it is responsible for more poisoning deaths in the United States each year than anything but heroin. What is it? Carbon monoxide gas!
Croup season is approaching again for those of us in the northern hemisphere. Two studies cited in Pediatric News (33(8):12, 1999) independently report that a single oral dose of dexamethasone is now the treatment of choice for mild to moderate...
When children topple off a bike, helmets can save their brains -- cutting the risk of head injury by 80%. But some helmeted children still get brain damage. Why? One study has found that those who wear helmets that don't fit well are nearly twice as...
Is Down syndrome just a random event that more commonly strikes the children of older mothers? Is there nothing that can be done to prevent it except getting pregnant at a younger age or detecting and rejecting the affected child?
One of the unpleasant aspects of my son's operation was not allowing him to eat or drink after midnight the night before surgery. He was too young to understand - especially when the surgery start time was delayed. The practice of fasting was begun...
The average child in the United States watches about 2 hours of television each weekday. We know that those who watch much more than this are at increased risk to eat poorly, be obese, perform poorly in school, and be less successful socially. A...
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome leads all other causes in wrenching infants from their parents. SIDS is still not very well understood. One study uncovered the cause in about 2% of SIDS deaths. According to the study results, some children lack an...
In September 1999, the FDA announced that 99 cases of intussusception (including two deaths) had been reported in possible association with RotaShield. This is a sharp increase from the 15 that had been reported when the vaccine was halted in July...
Startling evidence has changed the way we think about adolescence. We previously thought that the most significant brain growth happens before age 3. Now we know that there is a "brain spurt" just before puberty, with lots of new gray matter -- the...
"You big bully!" We all remember it from childhood. Ranging from teasing and name-calling to physical attacks, bullying happens in nearly every school around the globe. The August 1999 edition of the British Medical Journal published two studies...
We know that kids who have asthma are more likely to be overweight. But is it that kids with asthma exercise less, and so become overweight - or is it that obesity can trigger asthma? An article in Pediatric News reports that overweight 9 to 14...
Your child is doubled over in pain. Concern has brought you both to the Emergency Room, but after initial evaluation, the situation still isn't clear. Is this appendicitis or not? An exciting report in the September 15, 1999 Journal of the American...
I sat enthralled at Grand Rounds as I listened to Jose Santos, M.D., Director of the National Vaccine Program for Mexico. While we struggle with the subtleties of further lessening the side effects of vaccines, Mexico is engaged in an enthusiastic,...
Many children go through a phase of wanting to sleep in their parent’s bed. If you don't choose to have a "family bed", click here for tips to get them back into their own beds.
