It’s not just “selective hearing!” True hearing loss in teenagers has become 30% more common. A survey performed back in 1988-94 found that 15% of American teens suffered hearing loss, even if slight. Bu a repeat study in 2005-6 showed that the percentage has risen to almost 20%, a 1/3 increase. Hearing loss is 50% [...]
The American Academy of Pediatrics has released professional TV and radio “spots”, encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated on time. The ads recall a time when many children were crippled or killed by contagious diseases. Grandparents hold their own young grandchildren, while talking about members of their own families who died or were crippled [...]
One of my patients is entering college this fall, and he wants to play football. He called our office this week to tell us that his college now requires all athletes (regardless of ethnic background) to have a routine blood test to screen for Sickle Cell Trait. He asked us for a lab order. Frankly, [...]
A new study, published June 16 2010 in JAMA, suggests that Lung Cancer occurs only half as frequently in people who have higher blood levels of B6. The protective effect of Vitamin B6occurred in smokers, as well as those never exposed to smoke. I have started recommending multivitamin supplements more frequently for my patients, because [...]
A new study suggests a link between pesticides and ADHD. Kids with high urine organophosphate levels are twice as likely to have some symptoms of ADHD. Click here for the study, published in the May 2010 issue of Pediatrics. Is this true? It’s hard to know. The data are 5-10 years old, and appear to [...]
Nowadays, we have all absorbed the idea that the overuse of antibiotics may be causing bacteria to become resistant. But does this mean that we should avoid using antibiotics to help people with a documented infection? Probably not. In the past, antibiotics were prescribed freely. In the 1990′s, a study in JAMA showed that half [...]
Excellent parenting books are available from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Click Here to see the entire list. The “classic” in this series is “Caring for your Baby and Young Child, Birth to Age 5″. The advice is reasonable, easy to read and follow. (It’s not alarmist, unlike the “What to expect …” series which [...]
Most of the families in my practice accept the usual recommendations for routine immunization. They do so because they understand the benefits, and they can ignore the unfounded fears that some people promote. Routine vaccination prevents illness. Another recent study has confirmed the value of these shots. In the June 2009 issue of Pediatrics, doctors [...]
Rotarix vaccine has been found to contain an extraneous virus. Fortunately, the “extra” contaminant is unlikely to cause a problem. Rotarix vaccine protects babies from infection with Rotavirus, an intestinal virus causing vomiting and diarrhea which can be severe. Since the introduction of Rotarix (and a similal vaccine, RotaTeq, from another manufacturer), rates of infection [...]
A new website, www.healthychildren.org, has been launched by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It’s excellent! The information is clearly presented, and the topics are very appropriate for families. I highly recommend, for example, the developmental information. Click on www.healthychildren.org and take a look! – David Epstein, MD
