Findings of a recent British study are certain to unnerve working moms. Children whose mothers work outside of the home are more likely to eat unhealthy foods, watch too much television and are less likely to exercise. The study tracked the dietary habits and physical activity of more than 12,500 children ages nine months to five years. The results point toward working parents not having as much time to “provide their children with healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity.”

The study also noted that children of working moms were more often driven to school as opposed to walking or riding a bike. This in turn helped foster a sedentary lifestyle in which sitting in front of the computer or television was in excess of 2 hours a day. On the contrary, kids of stay at home moms logged less than 2 hours of media viewing and got more exercise.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and there are most likely plenty of stay at home moms who do not monitor their children’s diet, physical activity and media intake properly — while there must also exist many working mothers who put every effort into their child’s feeding and exercise plan and make sure their television time is not excessive. As with all of these types of studies, they should serve as a reminder to stay aware of our children’s needs in order to offer them the healthiest lifestyle possible. – Beth Shea, Staff Writer

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In that time there have been many warnings and even a recall on many different brands of cough syrup was issued by The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) in October.

At that time the Canadian Paediatric Society advised parents that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should NOT be given to children younger than three years old unless prescribed by their doctor.

Health Canada is now requiring manufacturers to relabel over-the-counter cough and cold medicines that have dosing information for children to indicate that these medicines should not be used in children under 6.

The relabelling of these medicines will be completed by fall 2009, in time for the next cough and cold season. During the current cough and cold season, medicines will remain on store shelves and in homes with the current labelling, which could include dosing information for children under 6, because many of these products also have dosing information for adults and older children on the same label. As a result, for this cough and cold season, parents or caregivers should consult a pharmacist or a health care practitioner when buying or using these products. These medicines can still be used in children 6 and older, and adults.

Until the relabelling of these products is completed, Health Canada advises parents and caregivers to follow these important guidelines:

• Do not use these over-the-counter cough and cold medicines in children under 6 years of age.
• With children older than 6, always follow all the instructions carefully, which includes the dosing and length-of-use directions, and use the dosing device if one is included.
• Do not give children medications labelled only for adults.
• Do not give more than one kind of cough and cold medicine to a child. Cough and cold medications often contain multiple ingredients. Combining products with the same ingredient(s) could cause an overdose that may result in harm to a child.
• Talk to your health care practitioner (doctor, pharmacist, nurse, etc.) if you have questions about the proper use of over-the counter cough and cold medicines.
• The common cold is a viral infection for which there is no cure. Cough and cold medicines offer only temporary relief of symptoms such as runny nose, cough, or nasal congestion Symptoms can also be managed using a variety of non-medicinal measures such as adequate rest, increased fluid intake and a comfortable environment with adequate humidity.
• For babies and young children, it is important to rule out serious illnesses that have cold-like signs and symptoms (for example, pneumonia, ear ache or other infections). This is especially important if symptoms do not improve, or if the child’s condition worsens.
• If you are concerned about the child’s health (such as if symptoms worsen, last for more than a week, or are accompanied by a fever higher than 38 C or the production of thick phlegm), consult a health care practitioner for a medical evaluation.

For more information about Health Canada’s decision and the use of cough and cold products in children, consult the Health Canada Web site or call toll free at 1-866-558-2946.

Matthew Williams awoke on Oct. 28 with double vision and was unable to walk unassisted, so his mother Toni rushed him to the hospital, but tests came back negative.

When the toddler’s father Paul searched his symptoms on the Internet and found an Australian paralysis tick could be the suspected culprit, the pest was found within minutes.

“Once we found it, we were excited and thought he would be alright, and he’d just need the night to rest and then he’d be back to normal,” Toni Williams said.

However, doctors explained that patients often deteriorate over several days before they recover as the toxins dissipate in the body.

Matthew was transferred to Mater Children’s Hospital in South Brisbane, Australia, where he was sedated and put on a ventilator.

His mom told an Australian News Source that her son is

“improving, but he is not out of the woods. Every day we see more improvement, and doctors say he is doing everything according to the text book.”

Some of the diseases you can get from a tick bite are Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.

Some ticks are so small that they can be difficult to see. Ticks may get on you if you walk through areas where they live, such as tall grass, leaf litter or shrubs.

If you’ve received a tick bite:

• Remove the tick promptly and carefully. Use tweezers to grasp the tick near its head or mouth and pull gently to remove the whole tick without crushing it.
• If possible, seal the tick in a jar. Your doctor may want to see the tick if you develop signs or symptoms of illness after a tick bite.
• Use soap and water to wash your hands and the area around the tick bite after handling the tick.
• Call your doctor if you aren’t able to completely remove the tick.

See your doctor if you develop:

• A rash
• A fever
• A stiff neck
• Muscle aches
• Joint pain and inflammation
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Flu-like symptoms

If possible, bring the tick with you to your doctor’s appointment.

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The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics found eight types of food account for 90 percent of these food allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.

Reactions range from a tingling sensation around the mouth and lips, to hives and sometimes even death in the most severe cases.

Children with a food allergy are two to four times more likely than other children to have asthma and other allergies, as well.

In 2007 the report found that:

• 29 percent of children with a food allergy also had asthma, compared to 12 percent of children without food allergies.
• About 27 percent of children with a food allergy had eczema or other skin allergies, compared to 8 percent of most children
• 30 percent had respiratory allergies, compared with 9 percent of the general population under the age of 18.

Overall, 3.8 percent of boys and 4.1 percent of girls had food allergies, the NCHS found. No one knows how or why children develop food allergies.

Most children outgrow the allergy, although some remain allergic for life.

Parents can look for a new certification company that guarantees the products that are being used in their children’s schools and in their homes are safe.

The Greenguard Children & Schools certification mark can be found on more than 110,00 products produced by over 100 manufacturers. By using products bearing the Greenguard Children and Schools Indoor Air Quality Certified mark, parents can be assured that these products have been independently verified to meet some of the most rigorous chemical emission standards in the world. A list of all Greenguard certified products can be found online at www.greenguard.org.

Pictured below: Infant products during Greenguard’s stringent tests

The findings were published in the journal Lancet together with two other studies, which found that runny noses and wheezing early on in life may be strong predictors of asthma.

In the first study, researchers pored through data provided by parents of more than 205,000 children and found acetaminophen use in the first year of life was associated with a 46 percent higher risk of asthma by the time the children were 6 or 7 compared to those never exposed to the drug.

In North America, acetaminophen is widely sold under the brand Tylenol and is used to relieve fever, minor aches and pain. It is used in a liquid suspension for children.

Medium use of acetaminophen in the past 12 months increased asthma risk by 61 percent, while high dosages of once a month or more in the past year raised the risk by over three times.

Medium use was defined as once per year or more, but less than once a month.

One theory about the possible link between acetaminophen and asthma is that acetaminophen reduces antioxidants in the body. Some experts think antioxidants, which stop unstable molecules known as free radicals from doing too much damage, can lower the risk of cancer, heart disease and other ailments.

Even thought these study results are worrying, researchers stressed acetaminophen should remain the preferred drug to relieve pain and fever in children because its alternative, aspirin, was linked to the risk of Reye’s syndrome, a rare but serious complication in children.

Related Articles:

• Study: Mothers Bond Better with Babies Born Naturally
• STUDY: Breast Feeding Releases A Bonding Hormone
• Study: Vitamin D Intake During Pregnancy Linked To Kids’ Dental Health
• Study: Breast Milk Protects Girls Better Than Boys

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In a new video released by the Corn Refiners Association, sweetsurprise.com wants parents to know that corn syrup is OK.

Here are their facts:

• The American Medical Association (AMA) recently concluded that “high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.”
• Research confirms that high fructose corn syrup is safe and no different from other common sweeteners like table sugar and honey. All three sweeteners are nutritionally the same.
• High fructose corn syrup has the same number of calories as table sugar and is equal in sweetness. It contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted high fructose corn syrup “Generally Recognized as Safe” status for use in food, and reaffirmed that ruling in 1996 after thorough review.
• High fructose corn syrup offers numerous benefits. It keeps food fresh, enhances fruit and spice flavors, retains moisture in bran cereals, helps keep breakfast and energy bars moist, maintains consistent flavors in beverages and keeps ingredients evenly dispersed in condiments.

While I appreciate that the Corn Refiners would like to keep their business going, the Mayo Clinic does not agree with them.

Here are some their facts:

• While human studies is not as clear, animal studies have shown a link between increased consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and adverse health effects, such as diabetes and high cholesterol
• Some nutrition experts blame increased consumption of high-fructose corn syrup for the growing obesity problem. One theory is that fructose is more readily converted to fat by your liver than is sucrose, increasing the levels of fat in your bloodstream.

What do you think? Do you believe that Hight Fructose Corn Syrup is a problem?

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The findings based on data from 17,017 children:

• A record 77.4% of children in this age group received the full recommended series of vaccinations
• 99% of children got all but one of the six individual vaccines in the series (the one exception was the four doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or whooping cough vaccine, received by 84.5 percent of toddlers)
• fewer than 1 percent got no vaccines

The immunization program’s success hinges on parents’ trust in vaccine safety, CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said.

Public health officials have expressed concern in recent years that some parents fearful about vaccine safety were declining to get their children vaccinated, making them more apt to catch and spread preventable diseases.

“We really recognize that ultimately our program is dependent on trust — trust of moms and dads, trust of caretakers and trust of the clinicians, pediatricians (and) family practice professionals who take care of our children,” Gerberding told reporters in a conference call.

CDC officials have blamed this year’s largest U.S. outbreak of measles since 1997, with 135 people sickened, on lack of vaccination often due to “personal or parental beliefs.”

Related Articles:

• Australian Couple On The Run After Refusing To Vaccinate Their Baby
• Amanda Peet ‘Explains’ Parasite Comment
• Are Your Kids Vaccinations Up To Date?

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They believe that in the most extreme cases, children could be taken away from parents.

This message came after it was revealed that:

• Councils are fitting super-size cremation furnaces to cope with fat corpses
• Ambulances have fitted extra-wide stretchers and winches for obese patients
• Schools are buying bigger seats for classrooms

About 1 in 4 people in England is obese and considered so overweight that it threatens the person’s health.

LGA public health spokesman David Rogers said some councils are already taking actions “where parents are putting children’s health in real danger.

“Councils would step in to deal with an under-nourished and neglected child so should a case with a morbidly obese child be different?” he continued. “There needs to be a national debate about the extent to which it is acceptable for local authorities to take action in cases where the welfare of children is in real jeopardy.”

Last year we met 8 year-old Connor McCreaddie who weighs 218lbs. Because his weight was 3 times the weight of most children his age he was removed from his parents home so that health officials could get his health back on track.

At that time, a doctor close to the situation believed that Colin was at risk of dying before he was 30.

Related Articles:

• Three Pregnancy Foods Myths Explained
• Should Your Toddler Be Drinking Low-fat milk?
• Is Your Toddler Overweight?

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A prominent cancer specialist in the United States is cautioning parents to limit the use of cellphones by kids to emergencies because he claims the electromagnetic energy the mobile emits likely penetrates the brain of a child more deeply than that of an adult.

That claim follows on the heels of a similar warning recently issued by Canadian experts that suggests children under 10 use land lines as much as possible and limit their chatting on mobiles to short and infrequent calls.

Dr. Ronald B. Herberman of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, along with a team of international experts, has posted a report on the university’s website urging people to take precautions in the use of cellphones.

“The developing organs of a fetus or child are the most likely to be sensitive to any possible effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields,” said Herberman in one of the report’s recommendations.

“Do not allow children to use a cellphone except for emergencies.”

The problem is that living tissue is vulnerable to electromagnetic fields within the frequency bands used by cellphones. He argues kids have a higher absorption rate because their brains are still developing.

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