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AUGUST 2010 School is just around the corner.....
Practices for fall sports will begin this month. Most forms require that a physical has been done within the last year. If your child meets this qualification, forms can be dropped off at the office for completion. When dropping off forms, please complete as much information as possible and allow 3-5 days for pickup. Please call the office if you are unsure if your child needs to schedule an appointment. Whatever sport your child may be involved in, it is important to prepare properly to avoid injury. This preparation includes proper nutrition, hydration, conditioning and equipment.
Between 1990 and 2002, nearly 209,000, 5 to 18 year olds, most of them girls, were treated in emergency rooms for cheerleading injuries. To help keep young cheerleaders injury free: ~Make sure coaches are certified. Coaches should have completed the Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators safety course. ~Don't let kids try it at home. Explain to them the cheerleaders they see on TV have had extensive training. ~Check out the practice location. Cheerleaders should practice on materials that can absorb the impact of a fall. Grass isn't an adequate buffer. ~Scope out the spotters. If your child is doing aerial moves, ask whether the spotters have been trained to anticipate falls and know how to catch someone. Stunting in high school is prohibited.
Our office will once again be offering the flu vaccine. Our shipment is expected to arrive in late August and will be given to patients at their well child visits. Beginning in September, flu clinics will be offered to any patient. Dates and times for the clinics have not been determined at this time, but will be posted as soon as the information is available.
The AAP has introduced an online tool that provides parents with information about their children's symptoms and advice on when to consult their medical providers. The symptom checker tool features images that can be used by parents to diagnose rashes and insect bites among children, as well as weight-based dosage charts for over-the-counter drugs. Visit www.healthychildren.org and click on symptom checker.
Traveling with a child can be entertaining, exciting, challenging and exhausting. With proper planning and preparation, a family trip can be pleasant and relatively trouble free. If
traveling by car:
Be sure that seat belts and car seats operate properly, and that all passengers are safely secured with doors locked before you put the car in DRIVE. Take breaks every two hours. Use this time to let infants and children crawl or walk, enjoy a snack or get some fresh air. Pack extra blankets and clothing if traveling in cold weather. Include plenty of toys and games to keep children occupied. Never leave baby or child in the car unattended. Select hotels and restaurants that cater to children and provide amenities to accommodate your family. Stop driving if you get tired or drowsy. Your family is counting on you for a safe trip! If
traveling by air:
Traveling by air is dehydrating. Give your infant or child plenty of fluids during the flight. Feed baby during takeoff and landing. Frequent swallowing helps alleviate ear pressure, which is very common during a plane's ascent and descent. Older children should also have a drink or snack to encourage swallowing. Pack small toys to keep children occupied. Battery Ingestion Injuries And Deaths On The Rise In the past few years there has been a significant increase in pediatric button battery ingestions resulting in serious complications. From 1985 to 2009, there was a 6.7-fold increase in the percentage of ingestions with severe outcomes, including 13 deaths. In addition, many devastating injuries have been reported such as exsanguination from esophageal perforation into the aorta, destruction of the wall of the esophagus and trachea, vocal cord paralysis and esophageal narrowing. Children swallowing batteries lodged in the esophagus have required feeding or breathing tubes for months or years and multiple surgical repairs. Two new studies suggest that batteries must be removed from the esophagus within 2 hours to prevent these serious injuries. These studies further demonstrate that the increase in the severity of button battery ingestions by children is directly related to the widespread use of 20-mm-diameter lithium batteries as a power source for common household products. The studies, “Preventing Battery Ingestions: An Analysis of 8,648 Cases” and “Emerging Battery Ingestion Hazard: Clinical Implications,” in the June print issue of Pediatrics (published online May 24), determined that 61.8 percent of batteries swallowed by children younger than 6 years came directly from a product, 29.8 percent were loose, and 8.2 percent were obtained from battery packaging. The most hazardous battery ingested, the 20-mm lithium cell, was intended for use in remote controls in 37.3 percent of cases. Study authors suggest that all consumer electronics powered by 20-mm lithium cells should require a secure battery compartment accessible with a tool (screwdriver) or child-resistant lock to prevent further pediatric ingestions. Parents must be vigilant, too, to prevent these ingestions.
A little prevention can make home life easier for those who suffer from allergies. Dust Mites
Pollen
Animal Dander
Mold
Overall Tips
~excerpt from The Plain Dealer, 3-19-09
It's impossible to make your home accident proof. But you can reduce everyday risks, particularly for the children involved in about 2 million home accidents every year. Children don't know the rules yet and are just being curious. Almost anything within reach attracts their attention, and with little ones it goes straight into the mouth. Crawl through rooms to check the safety landscape from a toddler's point of view.
~CDC For more safety checklists geared for parents, grandparents, about home playgrounds baby products and more, go to www.cpsc.gov. Five easy ways to build a better reader: 1. Don't sweat mistakes. If your child gets to a word he doesn't know when reading aloud, don't make him sound it out, just give him the word. We learn from having our strengths identified not our mistakes magnified. ~Jeff Wilhelm, Professor of Reading at Univ. of Idaho. 2. Stay positive. Don't make reading a barrier to an activity your child enjoys ("You can't go out and play until you've done your reading")~Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook. 3. Card 'em. When your child is reading a book with a lot of words, have him place an index card under the line of text he's reading and slide the card down the page as he reads. This helps kids keep their place. ~Richard Allington, Ph.D., president of the International Reading Association. 4. Form a team. Rather than arguing with your child about when she's going to start and how she'll finish a daunting reading assignment, offer to share the burden. Your child reads one page aloud, you read the next. ~Carol Rasco, CEO of Reading is Fundamental. 5. Give books as gifts. Children say they are more likely to read books they own, specifically, ones that were given to them by someone they love. ~Twila Liggett, Ph.D., creator of Reading Rainbow. Every well stocked medicine cabinet should include:
Many products are often recalled after distribution for safety reasons. The following websites are excellent sources of information regarding recalls. - www.consumeraffairs.com At the site, click on recalls. Select children's items. You can select items back to the year, 1999. - www.cpsc.com U.S. consumer product Safety Commission. Provides information on recalls and product safety news. Years 1973 - 2005, by month. Can search the most recent month or by product category.
- these allergy tips may help reduce your child's symptoms?
- the top ten household poisons? 1. Cosmetics 2. Cleaning products 3. Analgesics such as aspirin, tylenol. 4. Plants 5. Cough and Cold Remedies 6. Foreign objects, such as mothballs. 7. Topical treatments, such as creams and lotions. 8. Pesticides 9. Oral antibiotics 10. Vitamins
- that toilet lids should remain closed to prevent " spiraling toilet aerosol", which contains airborne germs, bacteria and particles that are cast into the air with every flush of the toilet. Dr. Charles Gerba, professor at the University of Arizona and specialist in microbiology reports that significant amounts of bacteria, virus and microbes float around the bathroom for at least two hours after every flush. To decrease the amount of these floating germs, close your toilet lid before flushing, use bleach tablets in your toilet bowl and put your toothbrush and cup away. - the laundry room is one of the places with the highest concentration of bacteria and fecal matter due to the collection of underwear. Fight germs when doing your laundry and make underwear your last load. Don't put colored underwear with other colored items. Use chlorine bleach to clean clothing and your washing machine. -that many common household plants are poisonous. Is there danger growing in your house or garden? The following list includes plants considered to be toxic (poisonous, possibly dangerous). These plants contain a wide variety of poisons and may cause symptoms from a mild stomachache, skin rash, swelling of the mouth and throat to involvement of the heart, kidneys or other organs. Many plants do not cause toxicity unless ingested in very large amounts. House Flower Garden Vegetable Garden Caladium Azalea Tomato Leaves Dumbcane(Diffenbachia) Crocus Rhubarb Leaves Elephant ear Lily of the Valley Potato sprouts Primrose Daffodil Mushrooom Ivy Hyacinth For a more complete listing contact the Poison Control Center in your area.
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