February 11th, 2010 by Emergiblog in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Something is in the air.
Work has been uncharacteristically crazy, nuts, bananas busy since I returned from my influenza-induced hiatus. Scores of very sick people, no real pattern. And a ton of pediatrics.
Feverish, coughing, runny-nose, wheezing, stridorous, vomiting, diarrhea-having, screaming, combative, medicine-spitting small humans.
It’s not easy triaging these little folks. You have to get the history over the crying/screaming, try and obtain vitals while they kick off any and all probes, do a rectal temperature if they are under 2 years old (wrestling to keep them still), and weigh them for medication dosing. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
February 9th, 2010 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
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Pain management is a hot topic in medicine in general and certainly in medicine for the outdoors. Injuries in particular, and many illnesses, cause pain, which in turn causes the victim to suffer. To a great extent, pain is subjective, but regardless of whether your pain is a “1” or a “10,” it can be disabling and even dangerous, particularly if it causes you to be distracted in a situation of risk (e.g., climbing, swimming, walking along a ridgeline).
Broken bones usually hurt a great deal. It’s commonly believed that the pain is always of a severity to require the administration of “strong” pain medicine, notably, something containing a narcotic compound. This may not be true. Read more »
This post, Broken Arm? Try Some Ibuprofen, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
February 5th, 2010 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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Bloomberg recently posted that the New York school system is going to eliminate whole milk from their cafeterias to cut calories. 4.6 billion calories and 422 billion grams of fat will be eliminated from the menu by this plan. A good plan for the kids involved. Well, at least a good start.
As the post notes, schools nationwide are working diligently to tweak menus and offer healthier alternatives for kids in all grades from elementary school to high school. Some schools, such as the school district my kids attend, use electronic payment systems where parents can log-on to see what their kids have purchased. We’ve found this helpful at times to remind our kids about healthy alternatives and how to order a healthy lunch, especially on days when they find them selves either completely ravenous or with little time, which can easily happen in a typical school day. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*
February 5th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News, Research
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Interesting title, eh? A University of Queensland study has reported in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology that females who experience puberty before the age of 12 may be more aggressive, which seems perfectly expected to me!
Young girls who experience puberty are frequently the tallest kids in their classrooms, the first ones to have breasts, and are likely to be teased and approached in a sexual manner by older males! This context means they are more likely to date earlier, have opportunities to drink, smoke and become sexual earlier, etc.. In fact, these girls, although they get in more trouble at teens, tend to grow up to be very strong and resilient women – characteristics frequently correlated with aggression!
I am simply not surprised by these results but do hope that the results encourage schools, medical professionals and others who work with preteens to notice pubertal changes and help young girls deal with the pressure and changing peer and social status that comes with puberty.
Photo credit: xinem
This post, Early Puberty Linked To Aggression in Women, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
January 31st, 2010 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, True Stories
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Brad asked how I think I influenced his development as a child. I think I taught him about leadership, perseverance, patience, problem solving, pattern recognition, innovative thinking, and compassion for others. The irony is I believe he taught me more than I taught him.
Mutual trust and respect must go hand and hand with the love for a child. Kids are people too. They have the same emotional responses to perceived events as we do as adults.
One of many incidents of mutual respect comes to mind. Brad was 11 years old in the 6th grade.
My accountant, at that time, was an avid stamp collector. I thought learning about the sub culture of stamp collecting would be a terrific intellectual experience for both of us. My accountant took us to several stamp shows and taught us how to value stamps. We started collecting. We accumulated a nice stamp collection. The collection had great potential to increase in value. We both learned a lot and grew together in the stamp collecting business. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*
