March 8th, 2010 by CodeBlog in Better Health Network, True Stories
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My son accidentally ingested peanut butter yesterday. He’s allergic.
He’s done this once before, which is when we found out about the allergy. He had some really awful hives 3 hours after he ate that small bite of peanut butter sandwich but that was all. His allergist told me that it would most likely never get worse than that.
He managed to eat some more yesterday. I braced myself for the hives to come, and we dosed him with Benadryl. An hour later he vomited. The pediatrician’s advice nurse advised me to take him to the ER. At the time I thought it was overkill. He wasn’t having any breathing difficulties beyond the cough he already had (he has a cold). He definitely wasn’t acting quite right, though, so off we went. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at code blog - tales of a nurse*
March 6th, 2010 by Debra Gordon in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
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So the American Academy of Pediatrics just came out with a statement that–gasp!–hot dogs (and hard candy, peanuts/nuts, seeds, whole grapes, raw carrots, apples, popcorn, chunks of peanut butter,
marshmallows, chewing gum, and sausages) pose a choking hazard to young children.
Maybe about a dozen children a year die from choking on hot dogs. So the AAP would like hot dog manufacturers to put warning labels on their products and consider changing the wiener’s shape so they pose less of a risk to young children.
I honestly do not know where to start. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at A Medical Writer's Musings on Medicine and Health Care*
March 4th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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If your teen is seriously considering a college, I now highly recommend setting up an overnight visit with the admissions department. Here is our experience: while on this college visit my daughter spent the night as a guest with two sophomores at the college we are visiting. We thought it would be a great way to get a feel for what it is like to live on campus in this little town and really get a feel for whether or not she “fits in.”
Upon arrival, we read and signed the paper about the rules, she was given her itinerary, meal tickets, appointment with a faculty member in the department she was interested in, and information about the class she was going to visit the following morning. The two young women who were hosting her introduced themselves and off she went – not a glance back – into the next grand adventure. The admission director smiled at me knowing I was holding back the tears – excited for her and knowing my life would never be the same. That evening my younger daughter, her friend and I saw a movie, had dinner and my younger daughter congratulated me when I did not text her older sister to say goodnight. Read more »
This post, Teens Can Give College An Overnight Trial Run, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
February 25th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News, Research
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In fact, according to the results of an online survey about sex, relationships, and sexual respect, 60 percent of young men and teen boys lie about sex. In November, 1,200 males ages 15-22 took the survey conducted by TRU, Seventeen magazine and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
Some of the findings include:
- 45 percent reported they were virgins;
- 60 percent admitted to lying about something related to sex: 30 percent lied about how far they have gone, 24 percent about their number of sexual partners, and 23 percent about their virginity status;
- 78 percent agreed there was “way too much pressure” from society to have sex;
- 57 percent of sexually active respondents reported having had unprotected sex; Read more »
This post, News Flash: Young Men Lie About Sex, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
February 12th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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What is it about our culture that encourages newer and riskier ways to challenge our health? Public health folks have become very concerned about the latest challenge – alcoholic energy drinks. These are prepackaged beverage with alcohol and caffeine, as well as other stimulants, that look like other energy drinks but carry a much more powerful, and dangerous, punch!
There were 500 new energy drink products introduced worldwide in 2006 with average sales topping $3.2 billion. These products are targeting youth by creating brand confusion with nonalcoholic versions; providing a cheap alternative to mixing energy drinks with alcohol; and using youth-friendly grassroots and viral marketing. The names of these products say it all – Rockstar, Sparks, and Tilt. Read more »
This post, Why You Shouldn’t Mix Energy Drinks With Alcohol, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
