HINI Results with Kids

FROM NBC: Health officials say clinical trials of the HINI vaccine in children are producing the same positive results as adult studies. The latest data show children age 10 to 17 developed a strong immune response after receiving *one* dose of the vaccine.

Children age six months to nine years will likely need two doses, similar to the seasonal vaccine. These results apply to both the inactivated vaccine, given as an injection, and the live virus vaccine, administered as a nasal spray.

Researchers have not seen any significant side effects linked to the shot. They are encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated against the seasonal flu now... as some kids may need four flu shots this year.

Are you planning on giving your kids the HINI vaccine?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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ADHD Drug Abuse

FROM NBC: As pediatricians write more prescriptions for drugs to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder... abuse of such drugs appears to be increasing at a similar rate. Researchers analyzed data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers from 1998 through 2005. Calls related to ADHD medication abuse rose 76-percent during that time period - faster than poison control center calls for teen substance abuse overall.

Researchers say it appears more teens are using the drugs inappropriately simply because of the increased availability. Estimated prescription rates for teens and preteens increased 133% for amphetamine products, 52% for methylphenidate products, and 80% for both together. Although the majority of adolescents use their ADHD medication appropriately, pediatricians need to know that the increase in prescriptions of ADHD medication increases the potential for abuse."

This is certainly something to watch if you have teenagers. Does anyone know if ADHD medication is still being prescribed like crazy or has the rush calmed down?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Boys getting the HPV Vaccine

FROM NBC:
The government is one step closer to allowing boys to get the HPV vaccine... and a second, similar vaccine could soon be on the market for girls. An advisory panel of experts at the Food and Drug Administration overwhelmingly voted to recommend both vaccines.

The FDA panel said the data show Glaxo-Smith-Kline's Cervarix is safe and effective at preventing the human papilloma virus in girls. The vaccine protects against two strains of HPV that account for 70-percent of cervical cancer cases.

If approved, Cervarix would be given to girls and women ages 10 to 25, and would compete against a cervical cancer vaccine that's already on the market: Merck's Gardasil.

Experts voted to recommend boys get that vaccine to prevent against genital warts and rare cancers affecting the male genitalia. Gardasil is not cheap, at 300 to 400 dollars for the three-shot series.

Dr. Kristin Rager works with teens every day at the Carolinas Medical Center's teen health connection. She says preventing h-p-v related diseases for girls and boys is well worth the costs associated with the vaccine.

I am not sure about this one. I have heard so many scary stories about Gardasil that I would be hesitant to give my boys this vaccine. Fortunatately for me, there are a number of years to "watch and see" before my kids are old enough to get the vaccine anyway. What do you think about this?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an Acne Emergency? Call Soderstrom Skin Institute at 674 – SKIN… we treat acne seriously. With over 35 years of experience, Soderstrom Skin Institute will provide a personalized program to help you get your acne under control. Untreated acne can result in permanent scarring. Don’t suffer any longer! Evening and weekend appointment are available and in most cases you’ll be seen within one week.

The Nudest Colony

My two-year-old has decided clothes are optional. Every time I turn around he is naked. And I don't mean he takes off his diaper. I am talking about shoes, socks, pants, shirts-the whole deal! I hear this is a sign he is ready to be potty trained. The problem is-he won't go in the toilet! I have tried and tried and tried. He just sits or stands there and looks at the water. He waits until I put a diaper on him and then he goes. Sometimes he will wait 4-5 hours to go! Help! What should I do?

Here's the latest potty training advice from NBC. I think this story came out just to rub it in to me that my toddler isn't even potty trained!:

Potty training. It's a rite of passage for every toddler -- but what if you didn't have to wait two or three years for your baby to ditch the diapers? A trend toward "diaper-free" babies is catching on -- and there are even classes on how to do it! Vicky Nguyen shows us - It's eco-friendly, economical - but is it for you?

Pkg: Evian Water's onesie-clad diaper-wearing babies are a huge hit on Youtube, but as any parent knows ... What goes in eventually gushes out ... And no matter how cute the baby, no diaper is immune to the blowout. (Pei Lee, mother) "I'm still fearful. I'm always constantly afraid."

Pei Lee and Paul Chang are the happy if not exhausted parents to Megan, Melissa, Matilda and Molly. They decided to ditch diapers when firstborn Megan developed eczema and diaper rashes. (Paul Chang, father) "It was a little hard, but once you get to know their cues, it's almost intuitive." With the birth of baby Molly two months ago,Paul and Pei turned to Willow Lune for a brush up on their diaper free techniques. Lune teaches two hour workshops showing parents what she learned during a tour of Asia.

(Willow Lune) "The basic hold is the child with head supported by your chest and facing outward and holding the legs here, so that you're able to hold the baby over the potty." Or ... The tupperware container. Toilets and bathtubs work well too. Or if you're outside, bushes ... anywhere you can give your baby a "pottytunity." Lune says start by observing your baby -- does she cry or wiggle when she has to go? Or you can use the clock, offering your baby a chance to go after naps or meals. For many parents.. having a diaperless baby in the house is sort of like having a ticking time bomb. But diaper-free fans say -- relax -- a mess or two is all part of the process. Experts say it's never too late to start either.. And you can use a diaper at night or when you're out.

This sounds way too stressful to me! Has anyone tried potty training a baby?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an Acne Emergency? Call Soderstrom Skin Institute at 674 – SKIN… we treat acne seriously. With over 35 years of experience, Soderstrom Skin Institute will provide a personalized program to help you get your acne under control. Untreated acne can result in permanent scarring. Don’t suffer any longer! Evening and weekend appointment are available and in most cases you’ll be seen within one week.

How to Cope as a New Mom

There are some forms of happiness, and then there are babies – the joy you know when you know you’re expecting is something that has to be experienced firsthand to be believed. You carry junior for the better part of nine months, and then voila, he or she enters this world one fine day, and your whole world is turned upside down.

You hardly know night from day, you feel exhausted all the time, and your life seems to revolve around the tiny being that seems to be bawling all the time. It’s not the easiest of times when you have a newborn at home, so if you’re looking for tips to cope, read on:

* Sleep when your baby sleeps: Now this may be hard to do if you have older kids, but if your spouse is willing to look after them or if they’re at school, lie down and get some rest when junior’s napping. You’re bound to be up at all hours of the night and your sleep patterns are going to become erratic with the young one’s feeding times interfering with them, so get some sleep any time you can.
* Be mentally prepared: The most important thing when you’re having a baby is to be mentally prepared for the long haul ahead. If your mind is ready to accept that it’s not going to all be a bed of roses, no matter how much happiness your bundle of joy brings, you will accept the midnight crying, the colicky screaming, the endless feeding, and every other exasperating aspect of your baby with a sense of maturity.
* Get some exercise: Even though you’ve just given birth, don’t spend all your time being sedentary. Take small walks around the house, walk up and down the stairs, and get back to some form of mild exercise as soon as your doctor gives you the go ahead. When you exercise, your stress levels reduce and you feel at peace with yourself and less frustrated when your baby is cranky.
* Eat healthy: It’s an obvious fact, but one that most mothers don’t follow. They’re so busy looking after their baby that they neglect their health and eat any old junk that’s convenient. This not only prevents their baby from receiving nutrition through breast milk, but also spoils their health in the long term.
* Rope in friends and family to help: When you have a new baby, there’s no shame in asking people who love you to pitch in, especially when it comes to taking care of the older kids or staying the night with a sick baby.
* Enjoy the experience: Enjoy the experience while it lasts, because your baby is going to grow up faster than you think. And when you feel your frustration levels grow, remember that this is for the short term only.

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of pharmacy tech certification . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com

I am trying to abide by these tips. At 2am, when I have been rocking and nursing the baby for an hour and he still wants to stay awake, it does make me wish we were past this stage! But most of the time, he is just a sweet little baby!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an Acne Emergency? Call Soderstrom Skin Institute at 674 – SKIN… we treat acne seriously. With over 35 years of experience, Soderstrom Skin Institute will provide a personalized program to help you get your acne under control. Untreated acne can result in permanent scarring. Don’t suffer any longer! Evening and weekend appointment are available and in most cases you’ll be seen within one week.

Beyond Baby Blues

FROM MEDSTAR: You might have heard about the baby blues, but if they persist, it could be a sign of a deeper depression. As Vince Sherry tells us, taking care of moms with severe postpartum depression is the focus of a unique program.

Becoming a mom brought joy to Clarke May. But when her son Max was three months old, things started to unravel. Sot: Clarke May “I kind of stopped sleeping and I started having a lot of anxiety out of nowhere. Started having panic attacks.” Clarke was terrified something would happen to her son. Eventually she was diagnosed with postpartum depression, a disorder that affects up to 15-percent of new mothers.

Sot: Samantha Meltzer-Brody, m.d., m.p.h. “It is one of the most common, often unrecognized complications of childbirth.” At UNC, Dr. Meltzer-Brody directs the nation’s only inpatient program specifically for women with severe postpartum depression. Sot: Samantha Meltzer-Brody, m.d., m.p.h. “All the staff, the doctors, the nurses, all the programming is geared towards women during pregnancy and postpartum, the concerns of new mothers.” The unit is designed with mothers in mind…gliders to rock babies, peaceful pictures, and quiet areas for counseling.

Sot: Samantha Meltzer-Brody, m.d., m.p.h. “All the programming, biofeedback, relaxation, the group treatments are all focused around this particular concern.” For many, medication is part of the therapy, but it's a treatment that can worry breastfeeding moms. Sot: Samantha Meltzer-Brody, m.d., m.p.h. “So what we try and do is to tailor the treatment so that we treat the patient’s symptoms with a medication that will be effective while allowing them to nurse if they would like to.” The effort to care for each individual helped Clarke return home to her little boy.

Sot: Clarke May “The program was really personalized. Everyone worked together as a team and really tailored the program to fit my specific needs.” And brought her full circle to embrace motherhood. The perinatal mood disorder inpatient program is located at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and is open to women across the country. If you are a mom who is concerned about postpartum depression, there is an online tool, called the ‘edinburgh scale’ (http://www.aap.org/practicingsafety/toolkit_resources/module2/

I really hope this doesn't happen to me! I always feel depressed when I don't get any sleep. And really how do you get any sleep with a newborn, a 2-year-old and a kid with night terrors? I think I should plan on being depressed and maybe that will prevent it. Hopefully the baby will be a good sleeper and I will be able to go to bed a lot earlier since I will be home before 10pm. I am waking up 3-4 times a night already. So, if the baby and I get on the same schedule, I should be just fine. Did you suffer from post-partum depression? How did you get over it?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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