Posts Tagged ‘Health’

Your child comes to you with a rather widespread and unsightly rash. You’ve consulted your sister, your neighbor, and the helpful UB online community, but you’re still not sure exactly how to best handle the outbreak. The authors of The Baby Book, which is widely regarded as the “baby bible,” have just published the newest must-have resource for parents and caregivers that can guide parents to help heal and protect their child.

The Portable Pediatrician: Everything You Need to Know About Your Child’s Health by William Sears, MD, Martha Sears, RN, Robert Sears, MD, James Sears, MD, and Peter Sears, MD is an encyclopedia of trusted and accessible information on every pediatric concern, illness, and emergency from birth through adolescence.

A thorough list of topics are arranged alphabetically for quick reference and include:

* acne
* allergies
* autism
* bedwetting
* choking & cpr
* colic
* eating disorders
* lice
* obesity
* sleep problems
* speech delay

Other important information presented in The Portable Pediatrician:

* Choosing a pediatrician
* Getting the most out of every check-up
* The Four things all parents must do to keep their child healthy
* Treating at home vs. Time to call the doctor

This thorough guide is an invaluable resource for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers that comes from years of experience from trusted doctors.

Available at Amazon.com

When it comes to keeping fit and healthy, we’ve all been known to try the latest fad diet,  even a detox regimen from time to time. But for our children, maintaining a healthy weight should follow the better philosophy of “everything in moderation.” Now comes a healthy way of eating that even your kids will green-light.

Enter a practical color-coded guide that’s NOT from the Department of Homeland Security, where green = go (nutritious), yellow = slow (eat in moderation), and red =uh oh (only for occasional treats). Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right: The Food Solution That Lets Kids be Kids is by Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, a pediatrician who specializes in helping kids manage their weight. She created the color-coded plan to help combat the continuing health crisis of childhood obesity. Here are the highlights:

- No foods are off limits.
- Children get the nutrients they need to grow strong, healthy bodies.
- Busy parents can use sample menus, meal plans, and delicious recipes.
- Eating out is a breeze with an index of more than 1,000 color-coded foods.
- Those at an ideal weight benefit from vital nutritional information to maintain that weight (adults and kids.)

Kids can have fun with recipes such as fruit pizza, maple-roasted sweet potatoes, and frozen yogurt pops. In addition, the book provides chapters on exercise, snacking and handling special occasions (birthdays, holidays, and other celebrations.)

Who knew the traffic light was good for something besides sneaking in text messages or applying mascara!

Available at Amazon.com

For many of us, survival depends on avoiding our kitchen. Rather than give our Viking range a workout, we take full advantage of restaurant deliveries, take-out and prepared (often overpriced) food from the local gourmet market. So the idea of giving up all of that is nothing short of frightening. But that’s exactly what one twenty-something in Brooklyn did.

Blogger and author Cathy Erway wanted to save money, consume less and eat more renewable sources. So she embarked on a culinary adventure in sustainability, chronicling her experiences in a blog, Noteatingoutinny.com. Swearing off restaurants, Erway took to communal dining, trash diving and dating sans the restaurant scene.

Her recently published memoir/cookbook, The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove, expands on her journey. The book is filled with recipes and stories of her two-year “experiment.” Bottom line: She was eventually reminded of the simple pleasures of cooking her own meals and sharing with friends.

Get going. Your stove awaits …

Available at Amazon.com

The book jacket begins, “Provocative and groundbreaking, Slow Death by Rubber Duck reveals how the living of daily life creates a toxic soup inside each one of us.”

Don’t be scared away. The intention of the authors, Rick Smith and Bruch Lourie, is to introduce people to the real fact that there are potentially dangerous toxins in our lives and homes, and to provide steps in which families can protect themselves. The authors proved their point by using their own bodies to experiment with everyday household items and they provide many helpful actions items throughout the book:

1) Avoid personal care products with heavy artificial fragrances, especially those with “Fragrance” or “Parfum” listed as an ingredient.

2) Opt for fresh air instead of air fresheners.

3) Reduce your fat intake.

4) Dump your old non-stick frying pan.

5) Read the labels and avoid consumer products with PFCs.

6) Encourage politicians to introduce legislation to phase out PFCs from food wrappers and other consumer products.

7) HealthyToys.com collaborated with Mom’s Rising, a U.S.-based organization to develop an invaluable online resource with a database that includes test results for more than 1,500 toys and products that have been tested.

“This book is an important wake up call for every mom and dad unaware of this ticking toxic time bomb that’s been lurking in our children’s toy chest, schools, and homes for years.” Lois Gibbs, Executive Director, Center for Healthy, Environment & Justice.

Learn more about the authors
Recent guests on Leonard Lopate show, NPR March 9, 2010

Available at Amazon.com

“When my middle son was twelve, he was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and then Tourette Syndrome. Confined to our home by the horror of his illness, a lifelong placement seemed his likely fate — until I learned that a strep infection might be the cause (a disorder known as PANDAS). Most doctors said I was wrong; but I was right, and two doctors helped me cure him. He is now fully recovered.” –Beth Alison Maloney

The book is, Saving Sammy: Curing the Boy Who Caught OCD by Beth Alison Maloney and hit the shelves in 2009. She has recently appeared on The Today Show and The Bonnie Hunt Show to share her powerful and inspiring story of a parent’s relentless quest to help their suffering child. It also serves as an essential tool in spreading information on a disorder that is not well known by both the parenting and medical communities.

PANDAS, is an abbreviation for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. The disorder has been controversial within the medical field but with the help of this book and a new “got strep?” campaign from The PANDAS Foundation, strides are being made for a more widespread understanding.

The latest issue of Scientific American Mind includes an article titled, “From Throat to Mind” by Erica Westily. The opening sentence of the article is “The case for strep throat-induced mental illness grows stronger.” It cites “compelling” research from Columbia University.

“As a parent, I am inspired because we all will have our battles and issues. Few will be of this magnitude, but whether my child has problems at school, the Y, summer camp or whatever, this story reminds me that there is no effort too great to expend on the beautiful creatures that are our children.” Kevin Price, M.D. - General Surgeon, Southern Maine Medical Center, Biddeford, Maine.

An important read. Share with a friend.

Join the online discussion

Available at Amazon.com

More Information
PANDAS
Saving Sammy
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There are no particular health or nutritional benefits to choosing organic produce and meat over conventionally produced food, said the UK’s Food Standards Agency. The agency conducted a yearlong study in which it reviewed 162 scientific papers published over the last 50 years, and found that a “small number” of nutritional differences existed between the two types of food, but the differences were “unlikely to be of any public health relevance.”

Conventional food producers, who have long maintained that organic had no advantages over its product besides snob appeal, were no doubt overjoyed. Meanwhile, consumers who spent an estimated $48 billion on organic food in 2007, are both put out and confused. Were they wasting their money all this time?

No, say study critics, who point out that the FSA ignored significant differences in vitamins and minerals between organic and conventional produce. Beta-carotene, for example, was found to be as much as 53 percent higher in organic produce, which the agency apparently discounts as unimportant.

Even more distressing is the fact that the FSA’s report failed to take into account the environmental damage wrought by chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as the potential health problems caused by pesticide residues on food. After all, you can take a vitamin pill to get all the beta-carotene you need, but you can’t remove toxins from the body once they’ve already caused damage. And since children are at more risk from pesticide residue than adults for a variety of reasons, that organic apple starts to look a lot more appealing, no matter what the FSA says.

Memorial Day kicks off the summer travel season — and those who find a good deal will be hitting road or taking to the friendly skies. But what to pack in baby’s suitcase? Below, the expert physicians at MommyDocs share their must-haves to avoid a vacation-induced flu:

Nasal aspirator: Babies haven’t quite figured out how to clear their own tiny nostrils and will need help from Mom. A nasal bulb syringe can help remove bothersome boogies from the nose.

Medicine: Talk to your doctor about what is best to have on hand for your child. These may include items such as nasal saline drops, fever reducing medications, and drinks to rehydrate and replace electrolytes. You’ll also want to make sure that any medicine you carry has not expired, and that you’re aware of the appropriate dosages based on your child’s weight. Never give medication to an infant, especially under the age of 3 months, without first consulting your physician. And always contact the doctor for a fever (100.4 F or greater) in an infant under 3 months of age or for any medical concerns in a child of any age.

Thermometer: Make sure you have a good thermometer and know how to use it. For infants, especially under 3 months of age, temperatures should always be taken rectally with a digital thermometer, like a Vicks digital thermometer. A great option once children have graduated from rectal temps is the Braun ThermoScan ear thermometer.

Your doctor’s phone number: Always have your doctor’s number on speed dial or somewhere very easy to find, such as in your wallet or glove compartment.

Hand sanitizer: Limit your child’s germ-spreading and germ-getting by enforcing a strict hand-washing policy. If available, use water and soap, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds. Another great option is an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Just be sure it is completely rubbed in and kept out of reach of children.

Tissues: Teach children to avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth as much as possible since germs can spread this way. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and remember to throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. Also, encourage everyone to direct coughs and sneezes into their elbows, not their hands.

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