Healthy Children

One electronic cigarette can have as much nicotine as a whole pack of cigarettes.Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, were originally marketed as an aid for quitting smoking. On the contrary, research shows it isn’t significantly effective, and it may even be more dangerous. Linda Reid, MD, is a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and believes that e-cigarettes can actually serve as a gateway to smoking for young people. Teens and young adults are at an impressionable age where something appealing and fashionable can be hard to resist. The Rise of Electronic Cigarettes ver the last few decades, Dr. Reid points out that smoking has become a lot less appealing because of the negative side effects associated with cigarette use. Despite this, the e-cigarette companies have used immense marketing campaigns to shift the interest to back to their own products. Electronic cigarettes are sold with liquid nicotine that comes in more than 7,000 flavors such as bubble gum, cotton candy, and watermelon. These flavors appeal to younger people, and the colorful liquids give off a playful vibe. According to Dr. Reid, the appeal to younger smokers is what makes e-cigs especially dangerous. Young adults don’t have fully matured nervous systems, and starting nicotine at those ages can have a significant effect on their brain, leading to a lifelong addiction to nicotine. The tobacco companies want to make lifelong customers, and ensnaring youths at an early age will keep them coming back for more. Hidden Risks of E-Cigs While they may look safer, electronic cigarettes come with risks of their own. There is a part called an atomizer that creates the vapor, which is inhaled and exhaled afterwards. Depending on how quickly the atomizer is turned up, the vapors can include carcinogens that can cause second-hand smoking and cancer. Another component of e-cigarettes that can be a source of danger is the liquid nicotine cartridges. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate liquid nicotine, and the cartridges are not consistent in terms of the amount of nicotine they contain. Liquid nicotine are so potent, one electronic cigarette can contain as much nicotine as a whole pack of regular cigarettes. The bright colors of the nicotine cartridges can also present a risk if you have children in the house. There have been over 4,000 cases in the past year alone of children under the age of six perceiving the cartridges to be candy, and eating them. Many of those children were sent to the hospital for nicotine poisoning, and one toddler from the East Coast died. If you’ve started using e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking, or know anyone that has, look for alternative methods of quitting instead. Dr. Reid mentions oral medication, patches, and the use of your local communities and doctors for added support. Young teens may seem attracted to the brightly colored flavors and sexy allure that comes with smoking, but Dr. Reid urges you to point out that nicotine is not safe in any way. In fact, it can be more addictive than cocaine and heroine, and smoking can quickly turn into a lifelong commitment. In the accompanying audio segment, Linda Reid, MD, discusses electronic cigarettes and vaping, and what your job is, as a parent, in educating your children about the possible health risks.

It’s important to have a checklist for your college freshman’s health and safety needs.As teens across the country begin preparing to become a freshman at college, there are many things to think about. One important thing that is easy to overlook, but should not be brushed aside, is their health care. When they are away at college, teens are exposed to a wide variety of pathogens and germs that perhaps weren’t found at home, and having up-to-date immunization is vital. Linda Reid, MD, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly urges upcoming freshman to be current on several vaccinations. The first one that may come to mind is measles, since outbreaks have been cropping up everywhere across the United States, including colleges in California, Arizona, and Illinois. Before entering college, students should have received both doses of the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine. Measles can cause pneumonia, and inflammation around the brain (encephalitis), which can lead to death. By getting the vaccine, your teen has a strong defense against what can be a potentially serious illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the MMR vaccine is very effective. With a 97 to 99 percent effectiveness rate, you are considered immune of you’ve received both doses of the measles vaccine. Chicken pox is another illness that should be vaccinated against. There are two doses for the chicken pox vaccine, comprised of a base vaccine and the booster shot. Getting both is critical for proper defense against this illness. Like measles, chicken pox can cause pneumonia and encephalitis, and is often more dangerous in older kids. While the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended at age 11 or 12, if your child still hasn’t received his or her vaccination by the time they reach college (and aren’t yet sexually active), it is still worth getting as the HPV vaccine can help prevent cancer. HPV can cause cervical and anal cancer, as well as cancer of the mouth and throat areas. People perceive tetanus as a risk only if you happen to step on a rusty nail, according to Dr. Reid. This is not the case, because gardening and other outdoor activities can also put you in danger of developing tetanus. Lockjaw is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of tetanus, as it can be fatal since it prevents you from eating. The tetanus vaccine (Td) helps protect against not just tetanus, but also whooping cough, which can cause restlessness in teens and death in young children with weak immune systems. Lastly, Dr. Reid advises parents to keep their children current on meningitis vaccines. Meningitis is typically spread through bacteria, and can live in the nose and throat without causing disease. At college, people may be more at risk in close quarters such as dormitories, frat houses, or sorority houses. Thankfully, there is a vaccine called meningococcal conjugate. It protects against four types of meningitis: the A, C, Y, and W-135 strains. Recently, another strain of meningitis, type B, caused outbreaks in California and the East Coast. A vaccine for type B has finally been approved, and should be available soon. Before your teen leaves for college, consult his or her pediatrician and make sure all vaccinations are current. Even after your college kid is away at school, you should stay up to date on administration guidelines for vaccines, especially the new ones like meningitis type B. By keeping your kids properly vaccinated, you can help ensure their stay at college is a safe and healthy one… and one where they can concentrate on learning. In the accompanying audio segment, Linda Reid, MD, discusses your child's health care needs when heading to college.

Oral health is an integral part of the overall health of children.​ Each child has different skills and needs that can guide parents in helping him or her brush.As the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other children's organizations report, tooth decay (also called early childhood caries, or ECC) is the most common chronic children's disease in the country. Health care professionals know that tooth decay is a disease that is quite preventable. Since pediatricians see young infants and children frequently for preventive health care visits, they are in an excellent position to identify children at risk for dental health problems, coordinate appropriate care and parent education, and refer affected and high-risk children to pediatric dentists. ​Each child has different skills and needs that can guide parents in helping him or her brush. David Hill, MD, discusses your child's dental health and gives simple suggestions you can implement to ensure your child's well being.

Safeguards against commonplace household dangers will protect not only your small child, but your entire family.Your household can have many dangers for young children; but with a little effort, you can protect your child from these hazards. Some simple fixes can be to check hard corners on your furniture, put safety plugs on your outlets and maybe open windows from the top (if possible). Your children will come across many potential dangers in your home; but you can do a few simple things to help your child stay safe. David Hill, MD, discusses what you can do to ensure a safe home environment for your children.

In an updated policy statement and technical report, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reaffirms its opposition to legalizing marijuana, citing the potential harms to children and adolescents.For adolescents, marijuana can impair memory and concentration and interfere with learning, and it is linked to lower odds of completing high school or obtaining a college degree. It's important to talk to your children to explain that just because it's "legal," it certainly doesn't make it good for you. Seth Ammerman, MD, discusses the AAP's stance on marijuana, its legalization AND its possible health benefits for children with debilitating or life-limiting diseases.

More and more studies show that too much soda is bad for children.Your children may enjoy a soda every day after school, but it may not be the best thing for their health. Soda contains no nutrients, is high in calories and sugar, can rot teeth, and studies have linked it to childhood obesity. There are so many reasons not to drink it, but kids absolutely love it. How can you get them to drop soda, and replace it with something more nutritious? Battling Obesity by Limiting Soda Consumption Dr. Corin Cross, an obesity champion for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), says a great way to start is by telling your children that soda is an adult drink. This will get tougher to enforce as they get older and realize that other families have different rules, but could help out when kids are younger. If your children are under the age of 10, for example, tell them flat out that you don’t drink soda, and don’t buy it. If you go out to eat with them and they want a special drink, something like a Shirley Temple or similar drink will have just a bit of soda. If you choose to allow it at birthday parties, it can get out of hand quickly; especially if birthday parties are a frequent occurrence. It’s easier to just have a hardline that cannot be crossed. There are other drink options that should be readily available to your children in place of soda. Dr. Cross recommends testing out seltzer water (plain or flavored), almond milk, regular milk, and on special occasions, natural juice. It can be very difficult to teach them not to drink soda or even drinks like Gatorade, especially with the sheer number of ads bombarding them from every direction. Slowly Phasing Out Soda If your kids are already drinking soda, weaning them off of it should be a priority. Sugary beverages are quickly converted into fat. You can help combat the rising levels of childhood obesity by teaching your children to ration their drinks. Instead of buying a 2-liter bottle of soda every few days, you can buy a smaller bottle at the beginning of the week for each child. Assign them each a specific bottle, and make it clear that they cannot have any more once they finish it. They can either drink it all at once, or spread it out over the week, but this will teach them not to drink it in large quantities. Over time, you can begin buying smaller bottles, and buying soda every two weeks instead of every week. Gradually you will reduce their soda consumption to the point that not drinking it again is a reasonable goal. Sharp, clever children may try to combat the soda restrictions by mentioning how “diet soda is not as bad.” The reality is that both regular and diet sodas are bad for you. While regular soda contains too much sugar, diet soda contains many different chemicals to help make up for the missing sugar. Your brain is smarter than that however, and the lack of sugar when it was expected makes you crave sugar even more. If your child has to drink soda, stick to regular soda. If your child is overweight, all soda needs to be cut out regardless of what type it is. Schools have been trying to raise awareness around drinking soda for years now. An older campaign that made the social media rounds highlighted a tooth dropped into a cup of soda… by the next day it had dissolved completely. More recent campaigns have shown kids how much sugar is in soda by pouring pure sugar into an empty cup. These savvy ads serve as great eye openers, and when combined with your efforts at home, could help protect your child’s health and set them on a path to healthier eating.

Should you be concerned even IF your child is vaccinated?Unless you are living in a bubble, you’ve most likely heard about the measles outbreak currently going on in the U.S. A foreign traveler with the measles visited Disneyland in December of 2014 exposing countless individuals. Fast-forward a month and we are up to 102 cases in the first month of 2015. The majority of the cases are in southern California, but there are now 14 states reporting cases of the measles, including Arizona, where we just had tens of thousands of people visit for the Superbowl. And, while it seems there is no shortage of opinions, anecdotes and rhetoric flying around, many parents still find it hard to get basic information about what is measles, what should they do, and do they need to worry. For some parents this information will bring peace of mind, for others it may sway them to reconsider the pros and cons of a non-vaccination choice. Listen in as Corinn Cross, MD, discusses this latest measles outbreak and how you can help protect yourself, your community and your family.

Do your kiddos eat commercially prepared foods? They may be loaded with sugar and sodium.Childhood obesity continues to rise, with 23 percent of American children aged two to five years being overweight or obese. It’s becoming more important than ever to start feeding children healthy diets early in life, but simply shopping for “healthy” food for young kids can be challenging. A new study found that significant amounts of prepackaged infant and toddler foods contain very high levels of sodium and sugar. As a parent, should you still be feeding these foods to your children? Many Foods Contain Extra Sodium The study examined over 1,000 different infant and toddler foods, comparing the information found on nutritional facts label. The good news here is that the study found infant food to generally contain low sodium. What was surprising, however, was that more than seven in 10 packaged toddler meals contained too much sodium. Worse still, a substantial proportion of both infant and toddler foods contained at least one added sugar; even foods that don’t appear to be sweet on the outset. There are different types of sugar, but the packaged foods contained simple sugars… exactly what you don’t want to feed your children. An example of simple sugars includes cane sugar and fruit juice concentrate. So how much sodium is considered too much? The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) dietary reference intake recommends that children consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day. Unfortunately, around 79 percent of children in the United States between the ages of one and three exceed the upper level of sodium. It can be easy to lose track of sodium intake, especially in a child, so you need to come up with smaller definitions. A child has an average of seven servings per day, so dividing the 1,500 mg of recommended sodium yields around 250 mg per serving, at most. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to better understand just how much sodium is packed into pre-made meals once you see that some contain as much as 900 mg per serving. Endorse Healthy Eating at a Young Age Dr. Mary Edmonds Cogswell, RN, DrPH, is a senior scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and served as an editorial board member for the Journal of Nutrition. Dr. Cogswell’s primary interest is reducing sodium intake across the board, and believes in the importance of introducing healthy whole foods into your child’s diet. Feed your children as many fruits and vegetables as possible without added sauces, salts, or sugars, urges Dr. Cogswell. Children will develop a taste for healthy foods, and what they eat during the early stages of life will help determine what they enjoy eating as they grow older. This in turn will help them to love eating wholesome foods from a very early age. Some young children can be very picky, and it may take as much as eight tries before they like a certain food. If they are under the age of six, limit the amount of sugar, sweets, and beverages that are presented to them as much as possible. Some foods, such as pretzel sticks or yogurt, can seem healthy at first. Check the labels, as these foods can sometimes have extra dyes, sugar, or sodium added. Indeed, Dr. Cogswell strongly encourages parents to realize that you are the one who dictates what your family eats, goes shopping for food, and puts the food on the table. Some foods are not as healthy as they first appeared, so it’s important to double-check the labels before feeding something to your children.