Imagine looking at a yellowed world through a tunnel. One in which every sound seems to be amplified, yet static dominates and masks the voices of those around you.
Category: Family
ObamaCare quietly leaves mark on Medicare despite repeal push
Republican efforts to repeal ObamaCare will likely leave Medicare untouched, meaning former President Obama will leave his mark on the popular health program for more than 58 million elderly and disabled “There are changes to Medicare that are in the ACA that have taken effect that people are benefiting from today,” Juliette Cubanski , Kaiser Family Foundation Medicare policy program associate director, told The Hill Extra. “Medicare, the way it is now, is really popular.
Doctors have role to play in preventing kids and teens from smoking: task force
Primary-care doctors need to take a more active role in preventing young Canadians from starting smoking and helping those who have already taken up the habit to butt out for good, says a group of experts that develops clinical practice guidelines. That recommendation is at the heart of the first-ever guidance on smoking in children and youth aged five to 18, developed by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.
Organ donation can save lives – but donors are scarce
“It’s a very strange feeling, praying for someone to die so a loved one can live,” our dear pal, Richard Zimmerman, told me. Barbara had recently moved back to New York City after living in Washington, DC, for her dream job in public relations, before falling gravely sick.
Pupils join nationwide virtual flash mob to help sick little girl
The Dance4Daisy campaign was launched nationwide by Havant company The PE Suite, an innovative teaching resource that challenges children to a greater depth of learning. The campaign aims to raise funds for four-year-old Daisy Wigginton from Bracklesham Bay, who has cancer, and the Howard One Ward, where she is receiving treatment.
crippling painBone donation gives life back
Sally Couch was facing the prospect of spending the rest of her life in a wheelchair before life-changing surgery three years ago. The 56-year-old has a surgeon to thank for her total spinal fusion, but also an elderly woman who donated her hip bone for a graft that has transformed her life.
School nurse’s supplies include food, toothbrushes and coats
… daily asthma and allergy treatments to referring children for eye exams and dental care. Laura Engelmann, community health and wellness manager for AtlantiCare, coordinates a nurses’ lecture series, which is now in its 10th year and growing. In …
County News: Pupils join nationwide virtual flash mob to help sick little girl
The Dance4Daisy campaign was launched nationwide by Havant company The PE Suite, an innovative teaching resource that challenges children to a greater depth of learning. The campaign aims to raise funds for four-year-old Daisy Wigginton from Bracklesham Bay, who has cancer, and the Howard One Ward, where she is receiving treatment.
Another attempt at an outdoor smoking ban?
The Sioux Falls health department continues working to snuff out the smoke in town. Last year the department spent months working on an ordinance that would have banned tobacco use on all city owned property, indoors and out.
Childhood immunization rates rising in Colorado as fight over funding looms
… but the state ranked only 36th in the nation. Dr. Edwin Asturias, the associate director of the Center for Global Health at the Colorado School of Public Health and one of the study’s authors, said the state’s current rate also represents a major …
Presence of day cares not linked to community risk of whooping cough among kids, study finds
But a new study out of Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health found that while you might think bringing more day care facilities to your block might make you and your neighbors sick more often, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Neal D. Goldstein, PhD, assistant research professor, led a team that looked into the density of day cares in Philadelphia and compared them to areas where cases of whooping cough occurred in the city.
SF Health Fair offering free dental work for kids
University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry is offering free dental check-ups and oral health screenings for children this Saturday in San Francisco. The ‘Give Kids A Smile’ event will take place at 155 Fifth St. from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Resolution to raise childhood cancer awareness goes to governor
A bipartisan resolution sponsored by State Sen. Steve Oroho and Assemblyman Parker Space to promote education and awareness about childhood cancer is headed to the Governor’s desk after it was passed by the New Jersey General Assembly. The bill passed in the state Senate in June 2016.
83% of Older Voters Want Medicare to Negotiate Drug Prices, Says…
… as Obamacare, instead threatens more than 43 million Medicare beneficiaries with sharply spiking drug costs. The 2010 health law includes benefits for Medicare Part D that cover prescription drugs, filling a costly coverage gap commonly referred to …
Smart kids more likely to smoke cannabis
… than those who were not as clever. Information was gathered on their academic achievement at age 11 and collated with health behaviours from age 13/14 to 16/17 – deemed to be early adolescence – and from age 18/19 to 19/20, which are classed as late …
In our opinion: Finding common ground on sex education reflects well on lawmakers
That’s why the coalition of lawmakers and community leaders responsible for SB196, which amends the state’s sexual education law, deserves praise. Together they have fashioned a policy that now boasts the backing of affiliates from both the Utah Eagle Forum – a well-known social conservative group – and Equality Utah – the state’s largest LGBT rights advocates.
Is it safe to kiss your kids if you have a cold sore?
As a mother, any stories about weird health issues affecting children tend to catch my attention, and so it was not unusual for me to stop what I was doing to study this article from the New York Times about a three-year-old girl who apparently caught herpes in her eye after her mother had kissed her with an infected lip. So wait, if you have a cold sore, even if there is no blister or sign of infection, is it not safe to kiss your child on the face? I continued reading the article and the author, a medical student, quickly defined the answer to my panicked question.
Healthy Homes Happy Families Expo offers practical ideas for families from local experts
L to R: Children’s health advocate Kim Spencer has invited Dr. Ramon Ramos, Dr. Tassie Hargrove and Chelsea Dye along with other local wellness experts to share their wisdom at the Healthy Homes Happy Families Expo on Saturday, Feb. 25. ASTHMA, behavior issues, depression, diabetes, eczema, food allergies, obesity…there’s an alphabet soup of negative health conditions that are becoming increasingly more common in childhood. The Journal of American Medicine reports that chronic illness in American kids and teens has more than doubled since the 1990s, adding higher numbers to the pot: One in six has a developmental disability.
Many adolescents think it is ‘probably impossible’ to get heroin
… of more than 230,450 adolescents between ages 12 and 17, which were collected by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health to estimate substance use and related behaviors. He found that in 2014, nearly 50 percent of the adolescents thought it was …
Buy: Flamingo Tassel Drop Earrings
Handmade in Thailand from cotton and brass, Bloom + Grace’s Flamingo tassel drop earrings contribute to social good just as much as personal style. The brand partners with local artisans across the globe, employing people in developing nations.
Reports claim there is a mental health epidemic affecting two-thirds of children
Being labeled in this way can have a detrimental effect on their quality of life, especially if they are prescribed chemical medications to cope with their feelings. Mental health issues also carry a stigma that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives.
a So hard to get them back:a Program aims to keep children away from addiction
For so many, the path to addiction is forged at an early age, experts say. Through the brambles of a broken family, children can lose themselves and develop aggression and anger; and one day, drugs or alcohol might become sources of comfort.
Former Four Diamonds Children Inspire Others to Keep Fighting
Both Brady Lucas and Ryan Mourey were diagnosed with leukemia as children and were supported by THON and the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey. Today, they are both Penn State students and active in THON, the year-round fundraising effort to fight pediatric cancer that culminates in this weekend’s 46-hour dance marathon.
Mental Health and Sexual Orientation: What the Evidence Says
… a sexual minority in American society today. First, a systematic review published in The American Journal of Public Health in 2016 finds sexual minorities are more likely to attempt suicide during their lifetimes. The analysis combined data from 30 …
Proposed bill would allow ‘dental therapists’ to perform dental procedures
Need a tooth pulled or a cavity filled? Forget the dentist. A number of states are allowing or considering letting “dental therapists,” professionals with a lower level of training, do the job.  In dozens of countries and a handful of U.S. states, dental therapists also sometimes called advanced dental hygiene practitioners help fill gaps in access to oral care for low-income, elderly and disabled people, and in rural areas where few dentists practice, according to many public health advocates.  In Massachusetts, a group that lobbies on behalf of dentists has for the first time signaled a willingness to embrace the concept, though its proposal is viewed as unnecessarily restrictive by sponsors of a competing bill in the Legislature.  “We are not a silver bullet for helping access to dental care, but we are a great tool,” said Christy Jo Fogarty, a dental therapist in … (more)
Soft drinks, pizzas may put your child at liver disease risk7 min ago
London, Feb 15 Parents, take note! Kids who regularly consume foods with high fructose such as pizzas, sodas, sweetened beverages and biscuits may be at the risk of liver disease, a new study has warned. Researchers found that both dietary fructose consumption and serum uric acid concentrations are independently associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis .
Nicotine exposure in babies may cause hearing problems
London, Feb 13 – Babies exposed to nicotine before and after birth may be at an increased risk of developing hearing problems due to abnormal development in the auditory brainstem, researchers have found. The findings showed that the auditory brainstem — an area of the brain which plays a role in analysing sound patterns — may have abnormal development in kids when pregnant mothers are exposed to nicotine before and after giving birth.
Religious vaccine exemptions on the rise in New Jersey
More parents in New Jersey are choosing religious exemptions for child vaccinations, resulting in a steady increase in unvaccinated schoolchildren. The number of unvaccinated school-age children has public health experts worried, while vaccine-choice supporters say families are making the best decisions for their kids.
Marine veteran battles flesh-eating bacteria: ‘It was life over limb’
“When you go through Marine Corps boot camp or any type of training in the military, you’re trained to be prepared for something big,” she said. What Martinez didn’t realize was how much she would need to rely on her mental toughness, not on the battlefield but in civilian life.
The Little Dragon program at Family Martial Arts teaches preschoolers how to defend themselves from
Self defense is a skill that everyone should have, but especially our little ones. Family Martial Arts wants to make sure that even the youngest children are prepared if something were to threaten their safety.
Al Ahli Hospital hosts children from The Next Generation School
… above are life style diseases that are totally preventable by eating healthy and living an active life. “It ensures health and emotional wellbeing not only for kids but entire family, community and nation.” “We, paediatricians, teachers and parents, …
A brain injury is two times more likely to develop attention problems
Washington D.C. [USA], Feb. 11 : People with mild to moderate brain injuries are two times more likely to have developed attention problems and those with severe injuries are five times more likely to develop secondary Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in an average of seven years after injury, reveals a study. Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in the US presented the study at annual meeting of the Association of Academic Physiatrists in Las Vegas.
Later high school start times may improve academic success: study
… University in New Britain. “This connects the dots between the world of science and education,” she told Reuters Health. “Through this, educators and parents can see how lack of sleep impacts the school indicators that we use to measure student …
Flu Cases Spiking Across the United States: CDC
… people in their 50s and 60s are also increasing, and may actually be outpacing those for children, the CDC reported. Health officials noted it’s still not too late to get a flu shot. That’s particularly important for the most vulnerable — the very …
Ohio Attorney General Calls For Drug Education Starting in Kindergarden
… just recommendations and there are no moves yet by lawmakers to require anything. State legislative, education and health leaders are part of a coalition that is looking at how to put in place a new drug abuse prevention strategy in Ohio’s schools. …
My view: Many Utahns still need Medicaid expansion
… and courage” of those “affected by chronic disease, serious injury or unexpected illness.” She advanced community health centers as a solution for the uninsured. Unfortunately, the number of centers will never be able to cope with the numbers of …
Our View: Government should be able to negotiate drug prices
… Thursday he is reintroducing a bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices. The Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act could save the federal government up to $24 billion. The Veterans Administration and Medicaid already negotiate …
Clinic falsely told dozens they had Alzheimer’s, suits say
” Shawn Blazsek knew a string of concussions from high school football and boxing was catching up with him. He would go days without sleeping and was forgetting how to tie his shoes.
New study finds screen time for kids not that bad
A new study from Stetson University in Florida has found that limiting screen time for children and teens is not as necessary as previously thought. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently dropped its recommendation of only two hours of screen time a day for children and teens, which corroborates evidence that screen time recommendations are often estimates and not clear.
Dear Monty: 10 advantages for considering ‘Aging In Place’
Reader Question: We are in our late 70’s and both in pretty good health. Our children keep hinting to us that we should sell our house and move into some age-based community.