Entries Tagged as ‘In The News’

February 11, 2010

Three Simple Tips for Preventing Obesity in Kids

I am always skeptical of easy fixes. If a diet or a product or a book claims that they will have astounding results with little pain, my first instinct is to run in the other direction. However, a study that will be published in March in the journal Pediatrics looks at risk factors for obesity and has [...]

October 21, 2009

In the News: Detoxifying Fakery

You must listen to this hilarious piece from one of my favorite local public radio reporters, Sarah Varney. She starts her report with this:  “I know, you’re probably thinking, what kind of moron would believe that a toxin sucking foot pad could work.  Well, the photos on the front of the box are really convincing.” [...]

July 24, 2009

H1N1 Update: Finding Laughter in a Global Pandemic

A firm believer that humor eases our stress in times of crisis, I wrote a previous post about my favorite moments in the virus-formerly-known-as-the-swine-flu epidemic (now pandemic).  But they just keep coming.  Here are several that hit my funnybone recently. Thanks to Dr. Rahul Parikh for pointing me to the variety of multimedia tools that the CDC has pulled out for [...]

July 19, 2009

The Mystery of the Cookie Dough Recall

OK, pistachios  is one thing, but cookie dough?   The comfort food of modern America is now contaminated with E. Coli? According to food safety investigators, a national outbreak of E. Coli 0157 has been liked to Nestle’s refrigerated cookie dough and sickened at least 65 people in 29 states. Yet another reason to eat [...]

July 2, 2009

Going Nuts: The Latest on the Pistachio Recall

First peanuts, now pistachios….  What can a hungry child eat anymore?   After Salmonella infections were identified in peanuts, many parents are nervous about feeding their young children products containing peanuts and have switched to alternative nut products.   Recently, however, Salmonella bacteria have been detected some pistachio products processed by Seton Pistachio of Terra [...]

May 11, 2009

Humor in Chaos: Watching The Swine Flu Epidemic Evolve

As I said in a previous post, being on the front line of a potential global pandemic is fascinating and not a little scary.  Since I shared my thoughts about swine flu, it appears that though the disease continues to spread, it is currently neither as contagious nor as deadly as experts feared.  We will [...]

May 4, 2009

Top Child Health News of 2008, Continued

Part 2:  Here is my synopsis and opinion on the 2nd half of the top 10 most read online pediatric and adolescent medicine stories of 2008.  The previous post is here. When Are Temper Tantrums in Preschool Children Cause for Concern?  Most toddlers and pre-schoolers have the occasional, or even frequent, tantrums but are generally healthy. In [...]

May 1, 2009

Nearing Global Pandemic: What You Need to Know About Swine Flu and Children

  What do you do when you hear “global pandemic?”  Is it time to build a bunker?  Should you and your family lock yourself in with enough PB&J for weeks of sustenance? With swine flu creeping towards meeting the definition of global pandemic, everyone is in a flutter.  Parents especially are wondering how to protect their [...]

April 28, 2009

Top 10 Child Health Articles of 2008: The Science of Medicine

Physicians are always trying to stay abreast of the latest news in order to provide excellent care for their patients.  Parents, too, can learn from cutting edge medical news.   Do you want to know what your child’s doctor is reading about?  Here is my take on the first five of top 10 most read online pediatric and [...]

January 4, 2009

Dog Food May be Yummy, But Beware: On The Pet Food Salmonella Outbreak

My general philosophy about childhood is that kids should get down and dirty as much as possible. I think that dirt is good for kids (as are stubbed toes and scraped elbows). Builds character! So when parents tell me that their kid ate some sand at the beach or the playground, I tell them not [...]