Strollerderby : medicine

Is Candy Medicine the New Candy Cigarette?

JeanneSager — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:06:00 GMT

Remember candy cigarettes? So much fun pretending to be so bad? I haven't seen them on store shelves for years, so I've got to assume marketers saw the danger of hooking kids with candy. But I wonder: is the new trend toward diguising kids medicines as gummy candies really any better?

The gelatinous blobs have sold like hotcakes to parents who have struggled to make their children swallow the traditional pediatrician-prescribed multi-vitamin. The fight to take your fiber pill becomes a non-entity when you're promising them, "you can have a gummy this morning!"

And here's where I'm going to play the grinch. I'm not going to argue they're easier to serve up, but should we really teach our kids that medicines are like candy?

Like those sweet slim ciggies before them, the gummy meds are parading something potentially dangerous in a candy form. Even "good for you" medicines like vitamins, which can reach toxic levels when overconsumed. Even those fiber treats, meant to keep your kids from getting blocked up, can cause the exact opposite when they get hold of the bottle of sweets and go to town.

So let's weigh this out - toxic possible overdose versus a morning fight. Which are you going to pick?

Image: MyCalorieCounter

School Expels Teen for Birth Control Pill

JeanneSager — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:32:00 GMT

A teenager who popped her birth control pill during her lunch period at a Virginia school is spending her spring break fighting the district not to be expelled.

The problem? That she did so during school hours. . . specifically, that she took a pill without supervision of the school nurse.

Her mother says she's aware the girl violated school rules, but she's questioning just how far a school should go with its punishment. Two weeks suspension and recommended expulsion for taking a legally prescribed drug? Does that sound fair?

It's a problem for plenty of parents in America - not birth control per se - but medicine. Kids take a lot of it - just this week, a study showed the precipitous rise in the number of kids who require medication to control their blood pressure and diabetes. And those are just two diseases. What about asthma, allergies, ADHD? Not to mention your standard headache or menstral cramps which could use an over-the-counter fix. All legal drugs, and not always feasible to take at home. Some medicines require several dosages in a day, for example, spaced out over time. Others require kids take them at the same time of day, every day. And a headache doesn't come on to suit the school schedule.

Meanwhile, schools are steadily trying to fight the tide of youthful prescription drug abusers in the America - a number that's up fivefold in the twelve-to-seventeen bracket in the past decade and a half. They call for students to take all medicines to the nurse's office, where the school health official is charged with handing out the prescription drugs to the students at the appropriate time in the appropriate dose.

It's what the girl in Fairfax should have done, what even her mom admits she should have done. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for every kid. In part because some school districts refuse to condone over-the-counter medications because they do not come with a doctor's note that can be kept in the nurse's office. And in part because kids need medicines at different times during the day; times when the nurse's office isn't always open. Some schools have cut back on the availability of nursing staff too, sharing one nurse for several buildings - so kids end up handing their medicines over to office staff, who parents argue are often even less informed about the proper use of the medication than the kids themselves, who have been taking the drugs for years.

And school districts have gone overboard. The Washington Post article that shares the Fairfax family's story cites a since-overturned law from Maryland that required a doctor's note for kids to put on sunscreen. Really? Because we'd rather the kids all end up with skin cancer over a legal substance that's available over the counter in any Wal-Mart in the country, for sale to anyone of any age?

With birth control too there's the worry that being so strict on teens dulls the efficacy of the fight against teen pregnancy. Wouldn't we rather our teens were taking the pill than skipping it? And despite the school's claims that this wasn't about what kind of drug but the fact that it was a drug, period, I can't help but wondering if they would have threatened explusion over, I don't know, aspirin? I'm not defending the girl in Virginia for her actions - birth control pills are to be taken at the same time every day, but there's no reason she couldn't have been on a schedule of taking them in the morning before school or at night.

She was wrong and deserved to be punished, but isn't expulsion for a LEGAL drug a little much? Do you feel the schools have gone too far in reaching into our medicine cabinets?

Image: AC

Doctors Call for Autopsies to Understand Stillbirth

JeanneSager — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:19:00 GMT

Thousands of pregnancies end every year in stillbirth - a baby dead in the womb sometime after the twenty-week mark or dead sometime during the birthing process.

It's heartbreaking for parents, but perhaps even harder for parents to take is the mystery. Of more than twenty-five thousand stillbirths each year, a full third are for unexplainable causes.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is calling for doctors to perform more autopsies on stillborn babies to unravel the mystery of stillbirth.

The goal is to reduce future stillbirths - or determine whether they can be prevented. The March of Dimes estimates stillbirth rates have dipped fifty percent in the last twenty years alone thanks to better technologies and healthcare practitioners' vigilance. They now know who has an increased risk of stillbirth - women thirty-five and older, women who suffer malnutrition and/or inadequate prenatal care, pregnant women who smoke and drink. They also have a host of causes for the two-thirds of stillbirths that are explainable - everything from placental defects to bacterial infection.

With the autopsies, they hope to rid the world of the other third. The question is how parents will take the suggestion from their doctor. Stillbirth is a traumatizing experience for parents, and the last thing a lot of parents want to do is turn their baby over to a scientist to cut, poke and prod.

Will parents be able to look past that and see the greater good? To see that they can make a difference for other parents in the long run?

Image: American Pregnancy Association

Pollution Causing Asthma Before Baby's Even Born

JeanneSager — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:30:00 GMT

A warning to all pregnant women: stay out of traffic.

A new study says traffic fumes will actually reprogram the DNA of an otherwise healthy fetus, paving the way for the child to be born asthmatic.

Scared? Me too. We've long known that pollution = bad for your health, and for pregnant women there's always that extra fear that what harms her harms her baby as well. But the idea of DNA being reprogrammed whilst inside the body runs a bit too close to science fiction for my tastes.

Expect it's not . . . fiction that is. The study at the Center for Environmental Genetics at the University of Cincinnati homed in on the ACSL3 gene, which other studies have shown is involved in the structure of cell membranes. Looking at the cord blood of fifty-three kids (a very small study, I'll admit), the BBC News has reported that scientists found "a significant association between chemical changes which control activation of the gene and high levels of maternal PAH exposure."

Curiously, the kids themselves were reportedly showing signs of asthma by age five, not at birth. As an asthmatic myself, I know that asthma in kids is still mystifying medical experts because a child can show signs at a very young age, only to have them disappear for a time and then show up again when they're teenagers (a major bone of contention between pediatricians and parents over whether it's appropriate to continue treatment when a child isn't showing symptoms). It manifests itself in different ways from person to person - with some kids highly affected by the cold, others by the warmth. Some people have symptoms brought on by stress, others by environmental factors. Pollution itself reportedly causes at least two-thirds of asthmatic events - which would seem to support this study.

So why is this good news? Because if a mother knows she's been subjected to traffic fumes, and doctors can test her child for the malformed gene, treatment can start early - before kids show symptoms.

The only question I have - will they be willing to listen?

Image: BBC NEWS

New Zealand Girl Treated Successfully With Cord Blood

Brett Singer — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:30:00 GMT

While I've considered the medicial possibilities of umbilical cord blood, I never thought much about it. We banked our kids' cord blood and of course hope that we'll never have to use it.

This story about a little girl from New Zealand illustrates a possible treatment. It sounds like cord blood may have given her a chance at life.

Maia Friedlander is 4 years old. Her twin sister Ariel, "hit all her developmental milestones about six months early." But Maia "did not learn to crawl till she was three." Maia "struggled to talk, walk properly or even chew her food without choking," and was in therapy for six hours each day.

But after a "two-hour infusion of her own cord blood", Maia is now in kindergarten and appears to be on the mend. Her parents say, "she's like a different child" after the treatment, which took place at Duke University in North Carolina.

Obviously, as parents, we hope that we never have to use a procedure such as this. But it's encouraging to hear about successful treatments like this one. As far as I'm concerned, anything that helps a little girl to have a better life is a good thing.

Source: Stuff.co.nz

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Conjoined Twin Surgery: One Lives, One Dies

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Conjoined Twin Surgery: One Lives, One Dies

Brett Singer — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:30:00 GMT

An operation to separate the one-week-old conjoined twins, named Hope and Faith, resulted in the Hope's death. Faith is still alive, with a "50-50 chance of survival," according to published reports.

The twins were born last week to Laura Williams. At 18, she is said to be the youngest woman ever to give birth to conjoined twins in Britain.

Listen to this: "The sisters were joined from the breastbone to the top of the navel. They shared their blood circulation but had their own organs, though they were joined at the liver and intestines." Can you imagine? I can, but not easily.

The doctors who performed the separation procedure wanted to wait but "the twins' health was deteriorating," which led to the emergency surgery.

So sad. I mean, what can you say? At least one of them survived? That's good news, right? Somehow it doesn't offset the sadness of the other half of the story. The fact that the twins' names are Hope and Faith got to me even more.

Source: AFP via Google

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They Say: Our Kids Are Developing a (Legal) Drug Habit

JeanneSager — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:35:00 GMT

Either kids are getting sicker or doctors are pill happy. A study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Pediatrics says prescriptions for kids with chronic health problems jumped by more than one hundred percent over a three-year period.

Kids aged five through nineteen who suffer from type two diabetes (so-called adult onset diabetes) took one hundred three percent more medications in 2005 than they did in 2002. Prescriptions for kids in the same agre group went up by forty-six and a half percent for kids with asthma, forty percent for ADD and ADHD and fifteen percent for cholesterol treatments. Although the latter number isn't nearly as high as that of the diabetes jump, both stand out for their mere presence in the younger population. Until childhood obesity became buzzwords in pediatric circles, type two diabetes and cholesterol issues were highly regarded as "adult" issues.

The study's author says behavior modifications can have a major impact on most of the chronic diseases studied, but whether doctors are counseling their patients on making the changes - and whether kids are listening - will make the difference in kids' health. Do you feel like your pediatrician's become a drug pusher? Or are kids just getting diagnosed better?

Source: Los Angeles Times

Image: More4Kids

Child Safety, Child Schmafety

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They Say: no cold medicine for kids 4 and under

Brett Singer — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Kid has a stuffy nose? Suck it up. Well, not literally. But don't give them over the counter cold medicine. That's the word from the FDA, who are now saying that you shouldn’t give cold meds to any child under 4 years old.

The cough and cold medicine industry, in the wake of intensifying criticism from consumer groups, lawmakers and pediatricians, agreed Tuesday to add "do not use" warnings to pediatric cough and cold medicines.

Taken literally, this would mean that they will sell you the product, but add a label that says not to use it. I know that's not exactly what they mean, but it's funny to think about anyway. It's sort of what cigarette companies have to do, right? They can sell you the cigs, but they have to include a label that says YOU WILL DIE IF YOU SMOKE THESE. Of course, it doesn't say, "do not use." Just that if you DO use them, you'll get emphysema.

The real problem, according to the FDA, is misuse of the meds. "[Parents] should follow very carefully the directions on the package," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "The No. 1 cause of problems is children getting into medicine for accidental ingestion."

The American Academy of Pediatrics wanted the FDA to tell people that the meds didn't work for kids aged 6 and under, but the FDA was concerned "that parents would give adult doses if it instituted a ban of products for children under age 6." Well, duh. If I can't give them their own drugs, I'll just cut mine in half.

Now look. I'm being obnoxious here, and I apologize. But as I understand it, no one is saying that over the counter cold medicine is unsafe when the recommended dosages are used. They do seem to be saying that the medicines are ineffective, which I can believe. In my own experience, I have more success treating my old colds with Ginger Tea, Vitamin C and sleep. (Those three things even rhyme, sort of.) The best thing in the world, for me, is acupuncture. Two needles in the right spots on my nose and poof – no more snot. That's not going to work for everyone, and on the rare occasion when I have severe sinus pain, I'll take something stronger (an over the counter sinus pill usually does it for me). Again, this is only my own experience, your mileage may vary, and I'm not a doctor nor have I played one on TV. I don't even watch "Grey's Anatomy." So don't take this as advice.

Bottom line: the FDA says don't give your kids cold medicine if they are under 4 years of age. They would say under 6, but they're afraid that if they did, you'd give them your drugs. Thanks guys.

Source: Chicago Tribune

image: webmd

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Girl being kept alive by Viagra

Brett Singer — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:00:00 GMT

I can see the ads now. "Viagra – it's not just for boners anymore."

Case in point: Natalie Archibald, a 7 year old girl from Scotland, "collapsed after opening her presents on Christmas Day two years ago." At first doctors thought she was just "over-excited," but it turns out she suffers from a condition called primary pulmonary hypertension.

After two years of treatment that yielded no results, doctors gave her Viagra.

"[Her mother] Mrs Archibald…gave up her job as a legal secretary to look after Natalie after she began collapsing or turning blue on a regular basis following the first incident in 2006… She said: 'It was so frustrating because I knew there was something wrong with my wee girl but no-one could find out what it was… It got to the stage where we had almost given up trying to find out, until a doctor new to us went back into her records and carried out some more tests and diagnosed her….Within two weeks we were down to Great Ormond Street and the drugs had started, but it was a long fight to get there."

Natalie's disease could still prove fatal, but for now, "the Viagra works by opening the arteries and improving the blood flow." That's the same thing that the "little blue pill" does for impotent men, but this usage seems much more noble.

image/source: telegraph.co.uk

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Christina Applegate has double mastectomy

Brett Singer — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:30:00 GMT

MSNBC is reporting that Christina Applegate had a double mastectomy three weeks ago. She was diagnosed with cancer in one of her breasts earlier this month. She decided to have both breasts removed because, "Her mother battled breast cancer, and she tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation linked to breast and ovarian cancer."

She plans to have reconstructive surgery, "over the next eight months," and seems to be dealing with the whole thing fairly well, all things considered: "I’m going to have cute boobs 'til I'm 90, so there’s that…I'll have the best boobs in the nursing home. I’ll be the envy of all the ladies around the bridge table."

Applegate has had an amazing career, especially if you consider where she started – as bimbo Kelly Bundy on "Married With Children" way back in 1987 on some new network called Fox. Her film appearances include "Anchorman" and "The Sweetest Thing", and she was the main draw for the sitcoms "Jesse" (42 episodes) and "Samantha Who?" (15 episodes and counting, currently nominated for an Emmy). She also appeared on Broadway in "Sweet Charity." Not bad for someone who began as a pure lust object for a whole bunch of boys (myself included). I'm glad to hear she's cancer free (I'm glad to hear anyone is cancer free, frankly), and that she sounds like she's dealing with what must be a very traumatic medical procedure as well as she can.

One side note: "Applegate’s cancer was detected early through a doctor-ordered MRI. She said she’s starting a program to help women at high risk for breast cancer to meet the costs of an MRI, which is not always covered by insurance." I didn't realize MRIs weren't always covered by health insurance; if that's true, that is a very bad thing.

Source/image: MSNBC

10 Kids Things Begging for Redesign

Madeline Holler — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:34:00 GMT

I love that the brilliant minds of this era want my job of parenting to be easier -- and safer, more efficient, beautiful, convenient.

Problem is, in the world of kids' stuff, there are so, so many misses. So much stuff designed with my fragile/blank/in need of stimulation/small/big/tired/awake children in mind winds up making my life confusing, painful, not very environmental, extra dirty, a waste of time or, or, well, you get the picture.

Take carseats. And bath toys. And a whole bunch of other stuff that is conceptually great but pissing me off in the meantime. Here's my Top 10 List of stuff for kids that is begging to be redesigned. Please, add more in comments -- or direct me to your finds! Surely someone from Kraft/Evenflo/Proctor and Gamble is reading.

1. Carseats. I mean, why so damn big? I know, side crashes, rear crashes, front-end collisions -- baby on board. Nobody wants my precious cargo as safe and secure as I do. Still. Our Britax Marathon takes up way more than my 3-year-old's fair share of backseat space. The wings on that damn thing squeeze my older kid against her door. And how sad for out-of-town guests and/or our carpool buddies. We drive a mid-size car, wouldn't dream of going gas-guzzler, but, Jesus, we need more free space inside. How has someone not invented a quilted titanium eggshell type carseat pod thing that has the footprint of a bag of groceries but a safety rating worthy of NASCAR?

2. Baby carseat. You're looking at a woman with some serious biceps (1) from constantly picking up an enormous baby/toddler and (2) from hauling said chubberkins around in one of those infant carseat carriers her first few months of life. Why so heavy (the seat, not my kid)? Again, let's get some nano-technology involved and free up a few pounds. Mama is tired!

3. Bath toys that squirt ... and build up with mold and mildew. We love the squirty bath toys, but only until they start shooting out pink and brown blotches of mold or mildew or whatever biological matter builds itself a home inside them. Oh, I'm not above cleaning, but you're going to have to give me a way to get inside. Rinsing is not enough! Can't we come up with squirty bathtoys that can be turned inside out and put in the dishwasher? Phthalate-free, of course.

4. Crib sheet. Did you read Babble blogger Jane Roper's rant on the crib sheet? I don't even use cribs and I was feeling the painful cuts and sprains this mama experienced every time she wanted to freshen up the digs for her little girls. There's got to be a better way. Loosen up, crib sheet!

5. While I'm on linens -- mattress pads. Without revealing too much about my daughter's overnight skills set, let's just say I'm pretty tired of changing wet sheets. And that big stupid mattress pad. She doesn't pee at the foot of her bed. Or up near her pillow. Isn't there some kind of mini-liner I could just spread out in the zone? (Better yet ... an at-home catheter, size 4T?)

6. Rocking chair/glider for the square-footage lacking? We just don't have space for a rocking chair -- not even one of those icky light-blue floral print ugly, ugly gliders. Again, too big for our tiny living room (and even tinier kids bedroom). I just wish I could find one that had the footprint of a dining room chair but the rocking capability and comfort of one of these!

7. Baby shampoo lids. OK, you know how your kids are suddenly too independent and they need to squeeze out their own shampoo? Yet, yet ... they're a bit heavy with the pour? I'd like a shampoo container that's topped with a spout ... you know, those things bartenders stick in the top of a liter of vodka which somehow limit each tip of the bottle to 1.5 oz?

8. Kids medicine. Recalls. Warnings. What the hell can we use? We've got cancer drugs and antiviral inhibitors. And all those billions big-Pharma rakes in. Can't someone come up with a safe and effective decongestant for a 9-month-old?

9. While I'm hating on meds, how about shots. Oh, I'm firmly on the side of immunizations for all, but why all the needles and pain and (if you're a member of my brood) hysteria? Why puncture the skin? Can't we smear the MMR vaccine on a patch and just wear it for a week? Squirt something up the kids' noses. At this point, I'd even agree to administering suppositories.

10. The juice box. Oh, juice box, how ubiquitous you are without deserving your following one bit. First, you're way overpackaged. But worse, you spill more than an open-lided, wide-mouthed, overfilled cup in an earthquake. It's natural for a kid to grab you around the middle, stupid juice box, and physics being physics and all, you shoot your contents out that ridiculous unbending bendy straw that can't ever manage to puncture a small foil opening without lots of swearing (and more spilling!). I hate you juice box, and I'd rather stab that bendy straw in my eye than give you improvement suggestions, lest they actually work and you never, ever, ever, ever just go away.

Photo: Designlessbetter.com

It all started when Mary needed a laxative

Brett Singer — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Old advertisements are the gift that keeps on giving.

Take this gem, posted on BoingBoing, found originally at the Learning 2 Share blog. A few favorite lines:

"It all started when Mary needed a laxative."
"I'd seen those laxative tantrums before."
"I asked [the school nurse] for advice. She knows so much more about children."
"All mothers should think more about the laxative they give their children…Forcing a child to take a bad-tasting laxative can shock her delicate nervous system."
And, once mom tries the product, Fletcher's Castoria:
"[Mary] hugged me and said I was the best mommy in the world!"

And of course, "it all started when Mary needed a laxative."

Because, you see, if you don't give your child a good tasting laxative, you are a crappy parent. No pun intended.

source: boingboing, via learning2share

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Update: Praying Parents Charged With Homicide

Cole Gamble — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT

The Wisconsin couple whose 11-year-old daughter died of treatable diabetes after said parents eschewed medical attention for prayer were charged Monday with second-degree reckless homicide. The father has stated he thought his daughter's illness was a “test of faith”, and I have no doubt he and his wife prayed until they could pray no more, but I wonder that now they have failed this “test” where their faith stands. Well, I guess you could always ask Job. The mother and father both face 25 years years in prison if convicted.

The main question that will come out of this trial, and the one you'll definitely hear from the attorneys for the defenses is this: is trying this couple a form of religious persecution? After all this couple did seek help in the best way they knew how, spiritually. Does it really count as criminal neglect if modern medicine doesn't factor into their belief system?

You can look at my original article for my stance on belief versus reality and where the two can work together.

What do you think: if a parent does what they believe is right, is that grounds for homicide? Extreme faith certainly isn't illegal, and it seems like we are dealing with a similar case of the state's idea of child welfare versus the tenets of faith in the case of the Texas polygamy sect.

Perhaps you think actively choosing ignorance might be a criminal offense. My question is, why do some religious people find common sense so antithetical to faith?

Study: Alcohol May Lead to Breast Cancer

Cole Gamble — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Over the recent years it seems there’s been a tug of war between the supposed benefits of alcohol versus the supposed negatives. Who didn’t cheer when they heard the news that a glass of wine or beer is good for the heart? I and my heart jumped for joy, even though my liver was a little more reticent on the subject.

Well, chalk up this news up to a big fat negative for you booze lovers. A recent study of more than 184,000 women found there may be a link between alcohol and breast cancer. The study found that women who had one to two drinks a day have a 32 percent greater chance of developing a tumor. Women who drink three more a day get bumped up to 51.

The people behind the study do not yet believe the evidence is conclusive enough to make a public health recommendation.

Breast cancer is the second highest cancer killer of women after lung cancer.

After news like that, I could use a drink, couldn’t you?

Photo: www.vegetarianorganicblog.com

Girls Dies Because Parents Pray Instead of Getting Treatment

Cole Gamble — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:04:00 GMT

An 11-year-old Wisconsin girl succumbed to a very treatable form of Diabetes when her parents turned to the healing power of prayer rather than medical attention.

For the full report check it here.

I want to be the first to say, this post is not about taking cheap shots. No “Silly Religious Fanatics Gone and Messed Up” here. Perception for better or worse, is our reality and in this parenting couple's reality there was more power in faith than there was in science. What I will say is that we as a people have a problem agreeing upon an objective reality. Faith is a powerful thing and, in it's way, it can change the physical properties of the world. I have no doubt that a severely ill person could do worse for their health than buoy their spirits with the everlasting hope of belief.

However, it all breaks down when we disregard the regular laws of cause and effect that affect us all. Al Gore believes there is an assault on reason. I think there is an assault on reality. If I stand in the path of an oncoming train, no matter how much I pray, prayer will not move that train from my path. God may work in mysterious ways, but he's not a wacky trickster (not usually anyway). And you know what, I wouldn't want to live in a world where there is an almighty power that bails us out whenever we feel like being irresponsible.

If there is a God, I'd like to think he put us here to learn a thing or two, or else I can't figure out what point we have sticking around. As you may have guessed, I myself am not a church-goer but I do have an open mind and I think reality and faith can coexist. Ignoring reality in the name our convictions is tossing aside the greatest teaching tool we have, the world around us. If you believe in God, I hope you agree that He didn't throw this place together half-assed. I don't believe He'd be too insulted if on top of that prayer we doubled checked ~~that evidence for going to war~~ our kid's illness just to make sure someone doesn't get hurt.

This case does remind us that whatever be our faith, we are all citizens of this earth and the same rules apply to all of us.

Botox for Baby

Jen Chaney — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:02:00 GMT

Botox: Finally it's doing more for the greater good than keeping Joan Rivers's face from collapsing.

A medical journal revealed this week that a Montreal doctor injected Botox into the nerves of a two-and-a-half-month-old infant who suffered from CHARGE syndrome. The rare condition causes multiple issues, including difficulty swallowing, which can cause the lungs to fill with saliva. The physician administered the Botox over a series of months starting in 2005 as an alternative to a tracheotomy, reportedly the first time such an approach was used. Now the child is three and living a healthy, normal life. Apparently other doctors in Canada have followed suit and are now using Botox to control saliva in more kids with neurological issues. So far, no side effects have been reported.

Like the Viagra case I recently mentioned, this is another example of an "adult" medical treatment that can play a vital role in improving the health of very young children. Sort of ironic. The pill that's supposed to get Granddad laid and the injection that's supposed to make Nana's face smooth enough to keep him interested? They actually serve a higher purpose by improving the quality of life for the youngest among us.

P.S. Botox can paralyze the salivary glands? Huh. So that explains why Priscilla Presley never drools.

Photo: Don Murray/Getty Images

Bad Advice in the News? Is Using Retin-A For Stretch Marks Risky During Pregnancy?

Kelly Mills — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:31:00 GMT

I saw this article from Fox News on preventing stretch marks, and paused for a second. Tip number one is, "Using Retin A Cream (vitamin A) at the inception of pregnancy, a weight-building program or a growth spurt is essential to keep the skin hydrated and moisturized." Now, I sort of remembered that Retin-A was not supposed to be used during pregnancy because of a risk of birth defects. So I went to the internet and poked around for reliable information. (Here's my love-hate with the internet. I adore having easy access to so much information, but sometimes you find everyone quoting some study and it turns out it was done on stuffed animals by a guy named Hal in his basement.)

So did the report just advocate pregnant women use something that causes birth defects? Accutane, also in the retinoid family, is absolutely linked to birth defects, but when you use topical Retin-A, only 10 percent passes into the bloodstream. Most of what I found says Retin-A is not associated with a higher risk of birth defects, though many people seem to still advise against using it in pregnancy--and actually Fox News advised against it last year. I did find this from a 2004 fact sheet from the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists: "There have been four reports of babies born with birth defects after their mothers used tretinoin during pregnancy. Usually, a few reports do not cause health professionals to worry, but the birth defects reported in these four cases are like the defects seen in babies whose mothers took isotretinoin during pregnancy." It goes on to say this is a very low risk, but that it might be a good idea not to use it. I also found this, which has scariness but in animal studies. So I guess you have to decide if your stretch marks are worth the risk, and if you consider this to even be a risk.

If anyone has seen any reliable studies on this, send 'em along!

Botox Kills Kids

Kelly Mills — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:40:00 GMT

Yes, it clears up those frown lines for a while, but could there be a darker side of Botox, aside even from the weird face paralysis and all that? In a word, yes. In fact, four children using Botox or a related drug have died, and there have been at least 180 documented cases of serious side effects in kids and adults, including severe difficulty breathing and swallowing, which can lead to a kind of pneumonia. One drug watchdog group wants a more serious FDA warning issued for Botox, as well as providing physicians with guides to give to all patients warning of the problems associated with the drug.

Now the children who died were not concerned with the ravages of time, but were using the drug for an "off-label" use, the treatment of muscle spasticity associated with cerebral palsy. Off-label uses for drugs are not uncommon. However, I have a funny feeling that even if cosmetic-use patients are given detailed information about the cases of side effects and death, it won't deter many of them from going forward with the pursuit of a more youthful look...

Free Candy in Medicine Bottles? Is Someone On Crack?

Karen Murphy — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:05:00 GMT

What's the best way to promote the sale of pharmaceuticals? Targeting kids, of course! And how do you entice kids into the pharmacy to spend their hard-earned pennies? Why, by giving away candy, of course! Candy in prescription medicine bottles! Which is exactly where we teach kids to look for candy, isn't it? Mmm, have some more ~~candy~~ "medicine", kids, it's soo good for you!

Yes, someone certainly thought this one through:

An Albertson's store in California set a table out with a bowl full of prescription medication bottles filled with candy and a sign inviting kids to the in-store pharmacy to play a "fish game". An Albertson's spokesperson referred to the candy display as a "lapse in judgment."

I don't know, maybe they're on to something (never mind a few accidental overdoses or anything). After all, kids are surely a so-far untapped and vast market for the pharmaceuticals industry. If we can get kids hooked on the lure of running to the pharmacy evety time they have a cough or cold and siphoning off their dollars from cheap plastic Dora toys into something useful like prescription meds, someone is sure to benefit, don't you think? I would hate for the pharmaceuticals industry to suffer or anything, or profits to dip just even a teeny bit, so we all just have to tighten our belts and suck it up and try harder to Consume! More! Medication!

P.S. The image? Came from an actual website selling "promotional" medicine bottles. That come filled with real candy. So maybe we're onto something even bigger here than I thought.

Image: www.theadvgroup.com

Pregcellent: Women React Strongly To the Caffeine-Miscarriage Study

Kelly Mills — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:29:00 GMT

A friend of mine had an appointment for artificial insemination, and the clinic told her she should go on bedrest for three days following the procedure to avoid any risk of miscarriage. Well, my friend looked up a bunch of studies, and according to her research, bedrest not only doesn't reduce miscarriage risk after insemination, it has just slightly higher odds of miscarriage. But I can see why the clinic advised this: They want to avoid the idea that any maternal action resulted in a pregnancy loss, and in a way it's exactly how we treat pregnancy nowadays. Don't drink at all. Be careful exercising. Avoid sushi and brie and meat that isn't cooked all the way through. And now, quit coffee or tea, or at the very least, cut way back, or you'll have to live with the fact that if only you had been willing to give it up, you might have had a viable pregnancy. All this, despite the fact that the vast majority of miscarriages are likely the result of genetic or chromosonal issues that mean the fetus would never make it to term, even if you lived in a plastic bubble and only consumed special nutrients and filtered water.

And this is just one of the things that has raised the ire of lots of women towards the latest study connecting higher caffeine consumption to an increased risk of miscarriage. The research has been called out for the small sample size and the methodology of interviewing women post-miscarriage about caffeine consumption. And it is also raising the hackles of women fed up with being told they should do this and that or they are selfish moms. The fact that environmental toxins and pollutants have not received the same coverage was pointed out, as was the fact that some of the taboo behaviors are the norm in countries with comparable miscarriage rates. And lots of other stuff too, because I think many ladies are at a breaking point with being advised against things that they like having in their lives, pregnant or not.

Look, there are certainly things that have strong connections to issues in pregnancy, and most of those (like smoking) are pretty obvious because they have bad repercussions for non-pregnant people too. And of course, even those known hazards are not a guarantee of problems for the individual, believe it or not. But the more tenuous connections to things like coffee are getting to be a bit much. And I think what's sad about it is that almost every woman I know who had a pregnancy loss blamed herself on some level, or at least questioned her own behavior, and I include myself in that number. And it's sad because the recrimination comes in situations where most likely no one could have done anything to prevent the miscarriage, not unless they had the ability to change the chromosonal makeup of a fetus that was never going to survive.

1-Year-Old Coping With Artificial Heart

Madeline Holler — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:02:00 GMT

They still use artificial hearts? Something about it sounds so early 80s to me. But I'm glad they're still around and, most likely, have vastly improved since the first one was implanted (and eventually rejected) by a guy in the U.S. now decades ago.

Here's why I'm glad: a 14-month-old boy in the U.K. is surviving on one as he waits for a heart transplant. Little Ollie the only person in Britian to be kept alive on one. He's been attached to it for more than 67 days.

The left side of his heart does not pump properly because the muscles have become "baggy" and his valves cannot shut properly. Brave Ollie underwent a seven-hour operation where two tubes were fed from his heart to the Berlin [the artificial heart] - which is bigger than he is. Ollie was diagnosed with a virus that weakened the left side of his heart, preventing it from pumping effectively.

Most of the "heart" is outside his body (unlike the artificial hearts of yore) and it works by pumping oxygenated blood into his body and diverting deoxygenated blood to his lungs.

His parents are waiting anxiously, of course, for an acceptable donor heart, which will likely come from continental Europe where organ donation is organized around an "opt out" scheme. That is, it is assumed that you want to donate your organs unless you've opted out. In Britain, organ donation is by opting in, as in U.S., which means fewer available.

Side note/question: Presumably little Ollie needs a smaller, kid-sized heart, meaning it would come from a child. In an opt-in system, how do we know whether children are donors, particularly in situations where the parents, who may be donors themselves, have also perished? I mean, if I were in a car wreck with my kids and the worst happened, I'd want every usable scrap of all of us sent out for others.

Are you a donor? Are your kids?

Asthma Drugs Under FDA Scrutiny

Madeline Holler — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:29:00 GMT

On the one hand, I should feel relieved that the FDA is cracking down on medications marketed for children, as they did in the recent crackdown on ineffective and potentially life-threatening children’s cough and cold medicines.

On the other hand, what else are parents dosing their kids up with right now – at a doctor’s behest – that could someday warrant closer scrutiny? Like the latest treatment that millions of kids use to, uh, stay alive.

Asthma drugs. The FDA wants a child-specific warning – that these drugs carry an increased risk of asthma-related death and/or hospitalization in children, and that these should be used with other asthma drugs and not alone -- stamped on each and every Serevent and Advair inhaler and are considering the same recommendation for Foradil. They also want a panel to consider whether the benefits of these drugs outweigh the risks. Yikes!

FDA reviewers found five deaths among nine adverse-event reports in children during its 13-month review period for Serevent. Such reports don't mean a drug caused a problem. They said there was evidence that inhaled steroid therapy was "not protective" in young people taking Foradil.

I’ve been lucky enough, so far, to not yet have a child diagnosed with asthma, though, in truth, I’m waiting for it to happen. I live in one of the dirtiest cities in the country and saying your kid has asthma here is about as common as saying she has dance classes too. (Excuse me, how sad is that?).

How many of your kids have one of those inhalers stashed in your purse or your school’s nurses office? Would you oppose a recall? Do you read warning labels or discuss them with your doctor?

Doctors Saved Baby By Freezing Her Brain

Karen Murphy — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:06:00 GMT

Quick-thinking doctors likely spared an English baby from permanent brain damage when they put her brain on ice for three days following a difficult labor and delivery. Olivia Templar endured a difficult birth and was starved of oxygen for about ten minutes, a length of time that typically would result in permanent brain damage, but instead, her head was fitted with a cooling cap that chilled her brain and kept swelling down.

Cool.

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

The technique has been in use on a trial basis for about ten years, but this is the first I've heard of it. About 800 babies worldwide have been treated this way. There are other methods of cooling the brain to prevent swelling due to birth trauma, and all are about equally effective; that is, they work in most cases to prevent cerebral palsy, the type of brain damage associated with this type of brain injury.

Olivia is three months old now, and although it's a little too soon to tell whether she'll be unaffected fro her ten minutes without oxygen, so far things look good.

Weekly Check-Up: More Parents Claiming Religion To Avoid Vaccination Requirements

Kelly Mills — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:32:00 GMT

If you don't want to vaccinate your children before they enter school, some states will let you claim philosophical objections, and some will only allow you to bypass the requirement if you claim vaccination conflicts with your religious beliefs or for medical reasons. In 20 out of 28 states with medical/religious-only rules, rates of exemptions have gone up. So it's probably safe to say that some parents are lying about their religious beliefs to avoid the vaccine requirement. Now, rates of exemptions in some states that allow philosophical objections have gone up as well, and it seems to me that the more important story might be "more parents are opting out of vaccinations for kids" rather than "parents lie to get around state requirements".

Not that lying about religion is super clear-cut. The religions that oppose shots--Christian Scientists and some fundamentalists--oppose many other medical treatments as well, treatments the non-religious might want their child to have if he or she falls off the play structure or has an allergic reaction to a food, for example. I doubt most schools would run to the vaccination forms in case of emergency, especially since you don't have to state what your religion is, but personally, I'm a worrier so I think about things like that.

I get very concerned when I hear that more kids are entering schools without being vaccinated, though it's clear the numbers are still small. Babble has a good piece on this here, and we've talked about it on Strollerderby before as a social contract and a difficult choice. At the end of the day, it's a choice that can have far-reaching consequences. Part of my decision to vaccinate was this: When I worked in a public health school at a major university, I met people who led campaigns to eradicate diseases all over the world through vaccination, and the stories they told of children getting sick and dying were pretty heartbreaking. I just hope an epidemic doesn't come along to make this choice easier for parents.

Kids' Antacid Use on the Rise - But is it Helping?

Alisyn — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:17:00 GMT

More than 2 million American kids under the age of 18 are regularly using antacids to tame heartburn and/or indigestion. Antacids are considered safe for regular consumption by minors... but it's hard to overlook the fact that sales have risen sharply (up 56% in recent years), and that the rise coincides with the rise of childhood obesity rates in this country. It begs the question: if kids has easier access to healthier foods, and knew which foods triggered uncomfortable digestive issues, wouldn't that negate the need for shoveling in the chalky tabs of relief?

Well, yes and no. Healthier food choices and heartburn education certainly wouldn't hurt. The natural way to cut out heartburn/acid reflux is to cut fatty foods and caffeine out of the regular diet rotation. Drinking a glass of milk really helps some people when they feel symptoms coming on, others not so much. And probiotics are a huge help (as a formerly pregnant woman with horrible heartburn, I know this from experience), for kids as well as adults, and are available in most health food stores. But of course, some people are genetically predisposed to acid reflux, and regular medication can help, but it only treats the symptoms of the problem - an overproduction of acids that the stomach secretes to break down foods, often in combination with an esophagus that doesn't function properly, allowing the acids to rise up uncontrollably - not the problem itself.

Does your kid complain of indigestion? How do you handle it?

[via ParentDish]