Children's Health

Approximately 115,000 personalized pacifiers sold by It's My Binky have been recalled because they pose a choking hazard to babies. Although no injuries have been reported, the pacifier button, ring handle and shield can detach and potentially choke infants.

According to a new recommendation from the American Heart Association, children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), also known as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), should be screened for heart problems with an electrocardiogram (EKG) before they are prescribed drugs such as Ritalin.

Drugs used to treat ADHD are stimulants, having the potential to increase both heart rate and blood pressure. In children with heart conditions, ADHD drugs could potentially make them more vulnerable to cardiac arrest and other heart problems. A Food and Drug Administration review of its own FDA databases found reports of 19 sudden deaths in children treated with ADHD drugs and 26 reports of other problems including strokes and rapid heart rates between 1999 and 2003.

The Cleveland Clinic estimates that the annual rate of sudden cardiac deaths among the approximately 2.5 million children in the US who take medication for ADHD is approximately one to two children per 100,000.

Prior to prescribing ADHD medication, the AHA now recommends that doctors screen children for any personal or family history of heart problems, and perform a thorough heart exam including an EKG. The AHA also recommends testing for children already taking ADHD drugs. Such testing can help identify any previously undiagnosed heart issues and detect abnormal heart rhythms that may lead to a sudden heart attack.

ADHD medications now have labels to warn patients of the possible risks to individuals who have heart defects or other heart problems.

Questions your doctor should ask in a heart screening exam:

• Has your child ever fainted during exercise or similar physical activity?

Bisphenol A (BPA), the chemical used to make clear plastic hard and shatterproof, is commonly used in many baby bottles and reusable water bottles. The newest information indicates that the chemical could pose health risks to humans.

The U.S. National Toxicology Program has concluded that "there is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures," and that there is "some concern for bisphenol A exposure in these populations based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an earlier age for puberty in females."

It is estimated that smokers take at least 20 years off their life span. Although, cigarette smoking has decreased, it is still prevalent in our American Society. Very sad is that fact that 4000 children start smoking every day, and 1000 of them will go on to become life time smokers. Cancer is one of a myriad of diseases which smoking causes, and contributes to a higher death rate.

• Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths and is responsible for most cancers of the larynx, oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, and bladder.

Today’s Health Craze is good. Hopefully, it is a fad that turns into a lifestyle for most of us. But along with our new found interest in diet and exercise, we have renewed interest in what supplements can we take to make us even healthier. Therefore, one should have knowledge about their use and safety prior to purchase.

The need for dietary supplements

Because many products are marketed as dietary supplements, it is important to remember that supplements include vitamins and minerals, as well as herbs, botanicals and other substances.

Deprivation feeds desire and leads to over-indulgence in the future. This should be a ‘motto’ (or an epitaph) on everyone’s refrigerator. It is a fact. Years of research have born out that a main reason for diets not working is the deprivation one feels during this ‘restricted semi-fast’. So, if you have always loved potato chips; you occasionally should have a small amount of chips.

No doubt about it; drugs of abuse give us pleasure! Why else would we continue to dangerous drugs into our system which might kill us? That’s how potent the pleasure response is, when it overcomes are very need for survival.

Effects of Drugs of Abuse on the Brain

Pleasure, which scientists call reward, is a very powerful biological force for our survival. If you do something pleasurable, the brain is wired in such a way that you tend to do it again. Life sustaining activities, such as eating, activate a circuit of specialized nerve cells devoted to producing and regulating pleasure. One important set of these nerve cells, which uses a chemical neurotransmitter called dopamine, sits at the very top of the brainstem in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) (Figure 6). These dopamine-containing neurons relay messages about pleasure through their nerve fibers to nerve cells in a limbic system structure called the nucleus accumbens. Still other fibers reach to a related part of the frontal region of the cerebral cortex. So, the pleasure circuit, which is known as the mesolimbic dopamine system, spans the survival- oriented brainstem, the emotional limbic system, and the frontal cerebral cortex.

All night dance parties have been around for generations; witness the marathon dancing of the Depression years. Today, all night dance parties are known as ‘raves’ or ‘trances’. It is not uncommon in some of these dance parties or bars known as clubs, for drugs to be used to allegedly enhance the experience. These drugs, for lack of imagination on the users part, are known as “Club Drugs’. Ecstasy, GHB, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine, or LSD are some of the drugs used at these parties. When used in combination with alcohol, all of them can be deadly. Two drugs, in particular, will be reviewed in this article which are ‘outlawed’ in all 50 States, and are commonly referred to as ‘date-rape’ drugs.

Physicians, Scientists and Other Health Care Professionals charged into the emotional fires which were initiated when the prestigious Centers for Disease Control stated being overweight was good for your health. Americans have been bombarded with fears that the increasing rates of obesity or overweight raised the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including the following:

• Hypertension

Lead Poisoning is still a reality for many American citizens. Children, particularly those younger than 5, are especially vulnerable. What makes lead poisoning so alarming is no symptoms present themselves, no cues, such as sight or smell detect the substance, and even dirt and dust which are omnipresent may contain lead. Additionally, once lead is ingested it may remain in one’s body for years, and in the case of bones (where it prefers to reside) may last for decades What is a parent to do? Is there anything a parent can do?