Source: Karen Bown Photography In the days before informed consent – when doctors knew best and it hadn’t occurred to patients that they had rights – newborn babies with life-threatening birth defects were declared “stillborn.” The motives were compassionate: Spare the parents an agonizing choice and a lifetime dedicated to full time care. This medical… Read more
Tag Archives: child health
The problem in Afghanistan is hunger
Source: Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan The typical diet in Afghanistan is bread with a watery soup, some onions, a potato, perhaps a bone and some yogurt or oil. One third of the population is hungry or in danger of starving – humanitarian groups call this being “food insecure.” Another third of the… Read more
Can you get swine flu by eating pork and other myths
Source: China View Christopher Beam, writing on Slate, points out that opposition to vaccines unites both ends of the political spectrum. “Swine flu may have an unexpected side effect: political unity. The far left and far right agree that they’re sure as heck not getting vaccinated against swine flu.” The far right objects to the… Read more
Questions worth asking about swine flu vaccinations
Source: TopNews The questions raised by Dr. Mercola about swine flu vaccinations – such as, Are you willing to let the government experiment on your child? – are simply inflammatory and self-serving. There are some legitimate questions, however. For example: Where is the vaccine manufactured? The current supply of H1N1 flu vaccine comes from US… Read more
Why it’s safe to completely ignore Dr. Mercola
Source: Kitchen Table Medicine A chiropractor for whom I have considerable respect – she’s a scientist, formerly an aeronautical engineer – is handing out copies of an article by Dr. Mercola that recommends against the swine flu vaccine. Another chiropractor told me she knew of no one in her profession who would receive, or allow… Read more
Dementia, denial, and high school football
Source: NFL Football 360 The National Football League (NFL) commissioned a survey on the incidence of dementia and other memory-related diseases among its retired players. The results that came back showed early-onset dementia occurring “vastly more often” compared to the national population. The NLF dismissed the study as unreliable. The data comes from the 88… Read more
Swine flu and hand washing: The how, the when, and the why
Source: PR Newswire There are a number of things about the H1N1 (swine) flu that are different from the seasonal flu we see each year. For example, adolescents are at a greater risk of dying than younger children. This is just the opposite of what we typically expect. In a normal flu season, at least… Read more
Swine flu, kids, and a "wash your hands" rap video
Source: Feelgood Health Here’s a well-written story by a mother (Brigid Schulte) whose son caught the flu at summer camp. She ended up nursing a houseful of sick patients, including herself. Everyone survived, but it was no picnic. The subtitle of the article is “During the Swine Flu Season, Think Before You Share a Drink… Read more
Preparing for the flu: Why don't we do it in our sleeves?
Source: Coughsafe.com Goodness! I’ve been sneezing into my elbow and didn’t realize it was socially unacceptable. It makes so much sense. You should never sneeze into your hands unless you can wash them without first touching something. Handkerchiefs collect germs and tissues should be used only once. This first video is from the CDC and… Read more
The enduring benefits of saving children
A child’s health depends on the child’s environment. Children who live in poor households are more likely to die, more likely to suffer the irreversible effects of poor nutrition, and less likely to benefit from a health-care system if one is available. It’s estimated that 9.2 million children under the age of five die each… Read more
Help! My child swallowed a magnet (or two)
Source: The New England Journal of Medicine Children love to put things in their mouths and, unfortunately, there’s always the danger of swallowing small objects. About 80 percent of these “foreign bodies” pass through the digestive system without incident, especially if they’re small and not sharp. Curious children might wonder what would happen if they… Read more
High school students should sleep in
There’s a physiological reason why teenagers want to stay up late and sleep as long as they can in the morning. It has to do with the production of melatonin. The body produces melatonin, a natural hormone related to our daily (circadian) rhythm, about an hour before we’re ready to fall asleep. Before adolescence, melatonin… Read more
Climate change: Bad news for children’s health
Climate change has a much bigger effect on our health than we realize, and it’s possibly the greatest public health threat of the coming century. This is the opinion of pediatrician Aaron Bernstein, quoted in a recent issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. Consider infectious diseases. As the climate changes, birds, insects… Read more
Swine flu parties for kids? Just say no
Source: From Smiler, with Love Some parents in the UK are discussing the idea of swine flu parties for their children. British parents have long held “chicken pox parties” at the beginning of summer. The idea is that it’s better for children to catch this once-in-a-lifetime disease at an age when there should be few… Read more
When a doctor's child is ill
Source: TV Guide Towards the end of season one of In Treatment, the HBO series about a therapist’s sessions with his patients, a young woman asks psychotherapist Paul Weston if he ever analyzes his own daughter. “It’s just not a good idea,” he replies. “It’s not possible to treat one’s own children.” “Why?” Sophie, the… Read more
Children as puppets
Here are two images from Italian photographers Winkler + Noah. The exhibit includes 30 photos of children, retouched to suggest puppets. From the artists’ statement: How can we forget the scent of dolls? … They talk, laugh, dance and joke … like children. Because that’s what they are. Children we ask too much of, to… Read more
The death of a child
One of life’s most tragic events is the death of child. Whether a child falls unexpectedly and hits his head or suffers from a disorder that progresses inevitably towards the premature end of a life – one cannot measure and compare such experiences. We sometimes think of today’s biomedicine as an impersonal, corporate machine that… Read more