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Fast Fact
Chicken pox is caused by the Varicella-zoster virus. It is usually a mild infection, and not life-threatening. Although children with this virus may be miserable for several days, and miss a week of school or day-care (stranding parents at home), they will likely recover from the 250-500 itchy blisters with nothing more to show for it than a few small scars.
Each year about 200,000 of the millions of people around the world who contract chickenpox become seriously ill with complications such as pneumonia or encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). About 2,000 of these people die.
Those who are at higher risk for complications include those with an already weak immune system, those with eczema or other skin conditions, adolescents, and adults.
Adults who get chicken pox usually have a much more severe, prolonged case than children. Pneumonia is common.
The rate of hospitalization for chickenpox is almost 900% higher in adults than in children. Adults are more than 20 times more likely to die from this disease.
Pregnant women face the additional fear of serious, even fatal, damage to the baby developing within.
In the past, multiple re-exposures helped to keep people's immunity high. Since the vaccine is now standard in the United States, the frequency of the natural disease should decline. Those who have had chickenpox as children will not be re-exposed as often, if at all. Their immunity may wane over time, making shingles and adult chickenpox even more common than they are now.
To date, those who have received the vaccine have a much lower incidence of shingles than those who actually had chickenpox over the same time period. Those who receive the vaccine also have a dramatically decreased risk of scarring.
Studies so far have found the chickenpox vaccine to be highly effective in preventing moderate and severe chickenpox in children (Redbook: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases, 2006).
For each individual, the vaccine seems quite safe. Reported adverse effects are generally mild -- soreness, swelling, rash (at the injection site), fever, tiredness, or fussiness are the most common. The vaccine is not recommended for immunocompromised people, or for pregnant women.
The American Academy Pediatrics currently recommends two doses of the chickenpox vaccine. Typically, the first dose of the vaccine is given at 12 to 15 months of age and the second at 4 to 6 years of age (at school entry). Older children who have not received two doses of the vaccine can receive their catch up shots 28 weeks apart.
For some cultures, the staple food is rice; for some it is maize. For American children, the staple food is the French fry! Potatoes are consistently on the list of most pesticide-contaminated vegetables. In recent USDA testing, the Environmental Working Group found that 81% of potatoes still contained pesticides after being washed and peeled, and the average potato had the highest total amount of pesticides of all of the 43 fruits and vegetable tested12.
Organic potatoes make my list because by the time American kids are 18 to 24 months old potatoes are the most commonly eaten vegetables, mostly in the form of French fries13. This gives a big opportunity to exert our power to bring about change.
And potatoes aren't just for kids. When surveyed, adults in the US reported eating an average of 3.6 servings of vegetables a day, with white potatoes leading the pack, accounting for about 30% of vegetables consumed14.
All of these potatoes represent well over a million acres of potato farms, yet there are only 6581 acres of organic potato production15 - actually less than there were in 2004, or even back in 2001. We're going potato-backwards! Even though potatoes are the number one vegetable, and even though they can have the highest total amount of pesticides, someone must think we don't want organic potatoes enough to push for them.
Let's change that. If you go to a drive-thru or a restaurant, and they don't have organic potatoes, choose another side dish. If enough of us do this, restaurant operators will either switch to organic potatoes, or provide other tasty, healthy side dishes.
If a lot of us just change item #1, I'll be happy. If we change #1 and #2, I'll be thrilled.
When a toddler or preschooler is still using a bottle to go to sleep, this choice has become a deeply ingrained habit. Weaning her from the bottle will require either finding an effective substitute, or using tremendous force to break the patterns. Click here for Dr. Greene’s tips for weaning a child from a bedtime bottle.
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