New data shows that the chicken pox vaccine (Varivax®) prevents illness even better than we knew. Death from chicken pox declined 88%, from 4.1 in ten million people to just 0.5 per ten million. The study by the CDC was published in the August 2011 issue of the AAP journal Pediatrics, comparing death rates in [...]
A new study shows that parents can protect their infants from getting sick, by getting flu shots themselves. Over a thousand mothers and their infants on an Indian reservation were studied. Infants whose mothers received flu vaccines were 40% less likely to catch influenza themselves, and 40% less likely to be hospitalized for it. The [...]
A new study links regular diet soda use with strokes and heart attacks. A study presented this week at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference (ISC) suggests a 61% increase in stroke for people who drink diet sodas regularly. (Click here to read more.) Does diet soda cause stroke? Or does the association merely [...]
Everyone “knows” that babies have trouble when they are teething. But I think that teething doesn’t cause nearly as much trouble as its reputation suggests. Babies start “gumming” and drooling on hard objects, starting at a few months of age. This might be due to teething, or it might just be oral exploration. You can [...]
An arm of Congress has investigated herbal supplements, and found that most are contaminated. The Government Accountability Office investigated commonly available supplements, and found heavy metals — including lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic — in supplements available at drugstores and health food stores. The FDA’s authority to regulate such supplements and treatments was rescinded during [...]
Have you heard that we need more Vitamin D? There have been several reports published in the past couple of years, recommending Vitamin D supplements. (Click here to read my previous comments.) But now, we read in the news that the Institute of Medicine is about to publish a rebuttal to some recommendations for super-high [...]
Up to one in 8 toddlers in America are iron-deficient. According to a new statement from the AAP: “Iron deficiency is one of the most common problems among children, but it’s frequently not detected, and it has long-term health implications for children’s development and behavior.” We test kids for iron deficiency anemia (and lead poisoning) [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
How do you know when your school-aged child can safely come out of the car seat, and use a regular seat belt? It’s longer than you think. The safety issue relates to the way that the safety belts themselves restrain the child. In order for the belt to restrain the child without causing injury, the [...]
