What are you doing this weekend?

I am going to be handing out DNA safety kits this Saturday for the Peoria Playhouse Event. There will be activities for the little ones like games, prizes face painting and balloon sculptures.

From the Peoria Playhouse website: There's something for everyone, ages birth through age 12. Kids will love to experiment, play and learn with different activity stations all developed around water, inspired by one of the future galleries in The Peoria PlayHouse named, "By Your River Gently Flowing, Illinois." And the child in all of us will love taking a Spotted Cow ice cream break (make sure to bring along a few dollars. One hundred percent of the Spotted Cow proceeds will be generously donated to The Peoria PlayHouse). There will be raffle items, helium balloons, face painting and more!

What is the Peoria Playhouse?

The Peoria PlayHouse will prepare every young child to learn by offering the hands-on experiences essential for healthy brain development. It will feature interactive exhibits and programs that strengthen families and complement formal education. These positive experiences will instill in our children a lifelong love of learning, and encourage an appreciation of museums as they mature.

If you get a chance, the event is from 10am-1pm at Talbots, across from the Metro Center on University Avenue in Peoria. I hope to see you there!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

No link between Autism and Vaccines?

If you are a parent who goes back and forth on the autism/vaccine link, here's the latest word that is sure to be even more controversial.

From CNN:

The Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine causes neither autism nor gastrointestinal disorders, a study reported Wednesday, disputing a theory that has persisted for a decade. A researcher had theorized that the measles vaccine caused gastrointestinal problems that he linked to autism.

The theory was created in 1998, when British researcher Andrew Wakefield published studies that suggested the measles vaccine caused gastrointestinal problems and that those GI problems led to autism.

W. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University in New York, who co-authored the most recent study, said Wakefield theorized that the virus used in the vaccine grew in the intestinal tract, leading to inflammation that made the bowel porous. That allowed material to seep from the bowel into the blood, Wakefield's theory surmised, affecting the nervous system and causing autism.

In Wednesday's study, the researchers replicated key parts of Wakefield's original study to determine whether the vaccine causes autism and GI problems, said Mady Hornig, a study co-author. Irish pathologist John O'Leary, co-author of Wakefield's studies that supported the autism link, also is a co-author of the new study.

O'Leary and the other researchers looked for evidence of the measles vaccine in children's intestines after they had been vaccinated and sought to determine whether their GI problems and autism symptoms occurred before or after they were vaccinated.

They analyzed samples taken from 38 children with bowel disorders, 25 of whom also had autism. The investigators found only one child in each group had trace amounts of the measles virus in their samples. The samples were analyzed at Columbia and at a laboratory of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as at O'Leary's lab -- the same one Wakefield used for his original studies.

The conclusion: "no evidence" linked the vaccine to either autism or GI disorders, Lipkin said. They also said they found no relationship between the timing of the vaccine and children getting GI disorders or autism. "This really puts this issue to bed," said Andy Shih, vice president for scientific affairs of "Autism Speaks," an advocacy group.

Dr. William Schaffner, vaccine expert and chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, called the study results "conclusive."

Dr. Neal Halsey, a pediatrician at Johns Hopkins Children's Center who specializes in infectious diseases, told CNN, "They have shown the Wakefield study was incorrect." The new study shows "there's no temporal relationship between the vaccines and the gastrointestinal disorders and autism."

But the Autism Society of America cautioned that the cause of autism is complex and more research is needed to fully understand the role, if any, of the vaccine. Another autism advocacy group, the National Autism Association (NAA), said the study is flawed. "This new study does nothing to resolve the controversy whether MMR vaccine has contributed to the autism epidemic," said a press release from the group.

Wendy Fournier, an NAA spokeswoman, told CNN Thursday that the new study raises more questions than answers and should have looked at more children who developed autism and GI problems after they received the vaccine. Only 5 children in the Columbia study were vaccinated before they developed GI symptoms and autism.

According to the CDC, measles is a highly infectious disease that can result in severe, sometimes permanent, complications -- even death. Measles remains widespread in most countries, but widespread vaccination has limited its spread in the United States.

Some parents, familiar with the Wakefield theory's putative link between vaccine and autism, have chosen not to vaccinate their children. Last month, the CDC reported 131 cases of measles in the United States in the first seven months of the year, of which 112 were either among unvaccinated children or children whose vaccination status was unknown. Halsey hopes this new research will help convince new parents that (the MMR) vaccination is safe.

The study is published in the peer-reviewed online journal of the Public Library of Science

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Prescription Pain Medicine and Kids

Do you have any old medicine in your cabinet? I know every time I get pain killers I end up not taking the entire bottle and I tend to save the remainders. Why do I do that? I don't know. I guess I just don't like wasting money and I think there may be a time I need it. That never happens. So this story is a good reminder for me to throw out all my old prescriptions.

From ABC:

To small children, prescription pills can look like tempting candy, but the drugs can do serious harm to small bodies. New research finds thousands of parents call Poison Control Centers each year because their children have accidentally swallowed a prescription pain killer and the result is sometimes deadly.

The opiate-based medications hydrocodone and oxycodone are among the most widely prescribed pain killers in America, present in millions of homes. Sold as Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, these are strong drugs that numb pain with just a few pills. But that's also how little it takes to kill a young child.

A new study from the nation's Poison Control Centers finds that thousands of small children each year accidentally overdose on pain killers found in their own homes. Researchers examined calls to Poison Centers in 44 states between 2003 and mid 2006. They found nearly 9,200 children had overdosed on household prescription pain pills. All the cases involved kids less than age 6, with the smallest children suffering the most - the 8 deaths all occurred in children under 3.

An additional 43 children suffered life-threatening or disabling reactions to the drugs. Parents must keep these medications far from young children, experts say, ideally locked up. Don't store them in a nightstand, a coat pocket or a purse where small hands can easily find them.

Source: Published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine by researchers from the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center

Do you have any prescription medicine you keep on hand?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Testing Kid's Hearing

How are your kids doing in school? Have they had any tests? Are they getting good scores? If not, it could be related to their hearing. Some research shows one in every 100 children have a hearing problem. This full story from CNN is below:

Experts say when a child suffers from hearing problems, it can affect him or her academically and socially.

Before five-year-old Morgan Joseph heads off to kindergarten she has an important test to pass: a hearing test. She failed an initial exam at her pediatrician's office and was referred to audiologist Laura Castel. Castel said, "We will look at -- not only look at the ear itself, but we'll look at different components like the middle ear or the inner ear and how the child is responding to speech and different tones."

Castel recommends school-age children have their hearing checked at least once a year. In the school-age population, we're now starting to find two out of every 100 children have hearing loss. That could be an increase with the popularity of our personal stereo systems. Castel says loud noises, especially from mp3 players, can damage a child's hearing. Castel said, "If you can hear the music while they're wearing the headphones, that volume is too high."

It turns out that Morgan's hearing is fine --just what her mother was hoping to hear. She said,"And so I started panicking, thinking that there was something wrong. Instead, Morgan got an A on her first big test."

I can't remember the last time my children had their hearing test. I know it isn't every year. I will be asking about hearing tests the next time they are at the doctor. How about you? Do your kids get their hearing tested on an annual basis?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Don't Ignore Teenage Suicide

We don't typically report suicides at our television station for fear of glorifying the act, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Teenagers are more susceptible than many people know. Here's new research showing the teenage suicide rate is going up.

After 10 years of steady decline, researchers say a recent spike in the teen suicide rate is not a fluke and new prevention strategies need to be developed quickly. The teen suicide rate jumped nearly 20% from 2003-2004. That’s the largest one year change in 15 years.

Now, the most recent stats available (2004-2005) show the numbers are still significantly higher, and experts are concerned this could be a new trend. This study is being published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Pediatric researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio plotted the actual suicide rates from 1996-2003 and based on that trend, they predicted the expected suicide rate for 2004-2005. Then they applied the actual 04-05 rate once it was available. While the actual suicide rate dipped slightly from the spike the year before, it was still 13% higher than it should have been based on the 10 year downward trend. That means significantly more teens committed suicide than anticipated for two years in a row.

Parents and pediatric experts are understandably disturbed about this finding. In the September 3rd JAMA, researchers at Nationwide Children’s call for action: more effort to identify why teens are committing suicide and to develop new prevention strategies.

These researchers say several factors may contribute to the continued high rate of suicides. They include: the influence of Internet social networks/bullying, a rise in military suicides, and higher rates of untreated depression following FDA required “black box” warnings on antidepressants. When the warnings went into effect in 2004, prescriptions of antidepressants dropped 22% - around the same time that teen suicides jumped 18%.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Older Dads and Autism

A new study mentioned on CNN shows older dads are more likely to have children who are bipolar, have autism and develop schizophrenia.

Children born to older fathers face a greater chance of developing bipolar disorder, according to one of the largest studies linking mental illness with advanced paternal age.

Research has connected schizophrenia and autism with older dads, and a Danish study published last year added bipolar disorder to the list. The new study led by researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute strengthens the evidence.

The leading theory is that older men's sperm may be more likely to develop mutations. Even so, the odds of a person becoming bipolar are so low that the study's authors said it shouldn't dissuade older men from becoming fathers. Researchers analyzed Swedish national registry data from more than 80,000 people, including 13,428 with bipolar disorder who were born between 1932 and 1991.

The risks started increasing around age 40 but were strongest among those 55 and older. Children with these dads were 37 percent more likely to develop bipolar disorder than those born to men in their 20s. They also faced more than double the risk of developing bipolar disorder before age 20. Scientists call that early onset disease, and although they have long known that bipolar disorder tends to run in families, early onset disease has been thought to be most strongly linked with genetics.

The age of the mothers didn't appear to be much of a factor.

What do you think about this study?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Treatment for Head Lice

I recently got an email from a concerned mom who said there are too many differing views on how to treat head lice. This is a post I will be printing off and keeping. It took awhile, but I did find someone who specializes in this topic. Here's the original email:

Jen,

Our family recently dealt with head lice. It was horrifying to say the least. I would like to see more consistent and reliable information put out there. I found so many conflicting things such as you should treat every member of the household while other things I read said only treat the infected persons.

There were conflicting things said regarding lice killing spray for bedding and furniture (some said you must use other said absolutely do NOT use). There were also conflicting things regarding removal of the “eggs or nits.” I also read things on different Internet sites about the lice killing shampoo actually causing death in children because they contain pesticides. I believe they were referring to the prescription strength but even so they stated the off the shelf could be extremely harmful as well.

There is a new treatment off the shelf that says it is pesticide free it’s called Lice MD. I do not know however if it works. I even went to the Tazewell County Health Department to confirm that I no longer had them myself and was given hand outs that contained conflicting information!!!!!!!!!

Could you please provide information regarding this issue so other Mom’s don’t have to go through what I went through with all the confusion and frustration. This has really caused a GREAT DEAL OF STRESS!!!!!! I hope we never have to go through this again but if we do I would like to know the real facts!!!!!

With school beginning again this is the perfect time to address this issue.

Thanks,

Emotionally drained Mom

This mom is right, there are a lot of opinions on head lice. It's up to each parent to decide who they think is a credible source for information on how to treat it. I did find Dermatologist Dr. Craig Burkhart in Ohio to be considered an expert on this topic. Here's what he recommends:

Treatment: "Not everybody treats it the same. The top treatment is a prescription-OVID. There is another product coming out soon, but it has not been FDA approved," said Dr. Burkhart.

1. Treat the Nits: Dr. Burkhart recommends using warm vinegar (not scalding hot) to help loosen the nits. He said, "Nits are the eggs of head lice and are laid approximately 1 cm from the scalp on the hair itself. Unlike dandruff, nits stay tightly affixed to the hair. As the hair grows, the nit remains attached to the hair-even after the nit has hatched." He says a fine toothed combed is necessary to assist in nit removal. In difficult cases, he recommends the Licemeister comb sold by the National Pediculosis Society (1-800-542-3634.) It is also sold at some K-Mart stores.

2. Treat the Head Lice: Dr. Burkhart recommends the prescription product Ovide lotion applied on Day 1 and Day 8 to all family members. He says over the counter products like Nix and Rid are no longer reliably successful in treatment.

• Apply the treatment to dry hair without using any water to dilute the product.
• Fully saturate the hair with the treatment so all the hair is matted to the scalp.
• Cover the scalp if possible with a shower cap.
• Leave the product in the hair overnight.
• Following the treatment, wash your hair with normal shampoo.
• Repeat this process in one week.

He says unless someone trained in detecting looks at the entire family and determines who is and is not infected, all family members should be treated at the same time. If there are other people who are in close contact with the family like grandparents, they should be treated too.

3. Clean the House: Dr. Burkhart says to wash all items that may have come in contact with the nits because lice can live off the scalp for about two days and nits can live up to 10 days! Lice may lay more eggs than what can fit on one scalp, so they tend to move to furniture, or the backs of car seats or the inside of hats, in hopes of finding a new host soon. (Does your scalp itch yet? Mine does thinking about this!)

• Thoroughly wash: combs, brushes, pillowslips, bed sheets and clothes worn over the last two days in very hot water.


• Thoroughly vacuum the house and car, especially the furniture.


• Don't lean against a cloth sofa for at least three days.

Dr. Burkhart says there is no reason to fumigate the home or spray insecticides.

What are head lice?:

Head lice are wingless insects that can neither jump nor fly. They are 1/8 of an inch in length and are about the side of a sesame seed. They have claws that allow them to move quickly along the hairs and they get their meals by sucking blood in a fashion similar to how mosquitoes deed. Human lice cannot live on other animals.

What about natural remedies for head lice?: Dr. Burkhart said, "What isn't a chemical?
Some of the natural remedies have chemicals which I have reported are not as safe as the insecticides we presently employ....and no, I do not recommend any natural remedies."

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.