Safety

Summer Sun — Summer Fun or Long-term Foe?
Dr. Greene's take on how to think about the summer sun... One of my college roommates met a tragic early death from malignant melanoma. He was a sports enthusiast who frequently spent hours unprotecte…

Internet Sexual Solicitation
Dr. Greene's take on Internet sexual solicitation... Talk with your children. Many children who use the Internet are the targets of unwanted sexual advances. According to a study published in the June…

Eating Licorice and Premature Babies
Pregnant women who eat lots of black licorice may be at increased risk of pre-term labor, according to a study in the June 2001 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. (more…)…

Weight Lifting for Kids – Safe? Effective?
My 14-year-old son is gearing up for freshman high school football in the fall. Team weight lifting starts next week. Is it healthy? Can this stunt long-term growth? (more…)…

At Home Tick Removal: The Best Way to Remove a Tick
According to a recent article in The New York Times, "Rates of Lyme, Zika and exotic new diseases are soaring. Federal officials blame hotter weather, jet travel, forested suburbs and slow vaccine dev…

Safe Swimming?!
Memorial Day Weekend. Picnics. Hot weather. Summer fun. To keep swimming safe and fun, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging parents to teach their children not to swallow poo…

Renovators Beware!
Dr. Greene offers a word of caution to renovators... In that tiny paint chip, the past and the future intersect. A generation ago in that same space, a couple stood in a freshly painted apartment, per…

The #1 Cause of Childhood Injury
Dr. Greene's take on childhood injury... Rock-a-bye Baby, the lullaby about a baby toppling from a poorly placed cradle, warns of a real danger. Falls from open windows, rooftops, balconies, play stru…

Ear Piercing – How Early is Too Early?
Many parents opt to wait on ear piercing until a child is able to make the decision for herself (or himself). Some parents find it desirable for their children to have pierced ears as babies. But how …

No Joyride!
Having caused nearly 100 injuries ranging from skull fractures, concussions, and a broken leg to minor scratches and bruises, the Evenflo "Joyride" has been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safet…

Hidden Sun Damage
Dr. Greene's take on sun damage... Parents often think to apply sunscreens to exposed areas of skin, such as the face, but feel safe about areas under the clothes. Ultraviolet radiation, however, can …

Ecstasy and Memory Loss
Dr. Greene's take on ecstasy... Those who often use this drug can lose their ability to form new memories, according to a study in the April 10, 2001 issue of Neurology. Participants in the year-long …

Education Saves Lives
Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of untimely funerals for 15 to 20 year olds. Almost 30% of the teen drivers killed had been drinking. Can anything really change these statistics? (more…

Secondhand Smoke Robs Vitamin C from Children
Children exposed to the most cigarette smoke have the lowest levels of vitamin C in their blood - regardless of how much fruit and vegetables they eat or the vitamins they take - according to a study …

Laughing Gas
Getting stitches on the face is no fun for anyone, but it is especially frightening to young children. A study published in the January 2001 issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine evaluated different w…

Kids and Scooters
Scooter injuries have skyrocketed since May, sending a total of 27,600 people to emergency rooms (including over 23,000 children), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rep…

Bidis and Clove Cigarettes
Bidi cigarettes, sometimes called kretek or clove cigarettes (although the different names have their own specific meanings), have increased in popularity more than 400% in the last few years. In my a…

Cotton Swabs and Ear Performations
I heard from a reader about an extremely common practice that most of us have been warned never to do: My wife was cleaning our three-year old daughter's ear with a cotton swab. She turned into the sw…

Ecstasy Use in Children Doubles
Teenage marijuana use has decreased slightly for three years running (after peaking at 44% who had used the drug at least once in 1997). According to the 2000 annual report of the Partnership for a Dr…

Chicken Pox Vaccine
No matter how much is known about a vaccine before it is licensed for routine use, after it has been used in millions of people it is possible to discover side effects that are too subtle or too rare …