Novel Toxicodendron treatment promises 30-second relief that isn't merely symptomatic
October 11th 2004The news this week from the floor of the commercial Exhibit Hall of AAP 2004 National Conference and Exhibition is that the most common allergic reaction has a cure. More than 55 million Americans develop allergic contact dermatitis from exposure to poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac (Toxicodendron species) every year. According to a report by researchers at St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network in Bethlehem, Pa., relief with the new soap product of alcohol solubles and anionic surfactants is just 30 seconds away.
Lose your cultural blinders and expect better outcomes!
October 11th 2004When a parent of Southeast Asian background refuses to meet your eyes during an examination of her child, warning bells go off. The parent is uncomfortable, has something to hide, is trying to protect something embarrassing or inappropriate . . . Not so!
Yes, some teens are ripe for plastic surgery
October 11th 2004Is plastic surgery the right choice for adolescents? One plastic surgeon, speaking to an audience of pediatricians, says "maybe." "This is a particularly vulnerable population," cautioned Julia Corcoran, MD, attending plastic surgeon at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "They are adults in so many ways, but not in all."
Emphasize personal strengths when addressing substance abuse with teens
October 11th 2004Many clinicians approach questions of substance abuse in their adolescent patients from the wrong perspective: They focus solely on the negative — the risk factors — instead of on the positive — teens' numerous protective factors. The result, say researchers from Texas and Maryland, is that patients and parents get less help than pediatricians can actually provide.
It's not your average headache - especially if it's migraine
October 10th 2004Headaches are a significant pediatric problem - and pediatricians who don't recognize and treat them aren't doing their job, according to a Stanford University researcher who spoke at the AAP 2004 National Conference and Exhibition Saturday.
Tying early vitamin supplementation to asthma and allergy
October 1st 2004With dietary vitamins having potent immunomodulating effects in vitro and in animal models, investigators were led to examine whether vitamin supplementation during infancy affects the risk of asthma and allergic disease in early childhood.
Screen for and treat overweight in 2- to 5-year-olds? Yes!
October 1st 2004Waiting until a child gets older before addressing weight concerns may be too late. Routinely assessing weight and providing anticipatory guidance about eating and physical activity can help prevent weight problems from taking hold--possibly for a lifetime.
Another baby and another cutaneous lesion--and more on efficient recognition and management
October 1st 2004In this installment, the author helps you distinguish among vascular malformations, hemangiomas, and less common vascular tumors of infancy and identify the lesions associated with congenital syphilis. The first part of this article appeared in the July 2004 issue.
Another baby and another cutaneous lesion--and more on efficient recognition and management
October 1st 2004In this installment, the author helps you distinguish among vascular malformations, hemangiomas, and less common vascular tumors of infancy and identify the lesions associated with congenital syphilis. The first part of this article appeared in the July 2004 issue.
FDA pediatric advisory committee calls for "black box" warning on antidepressant drugs
October 1st 2004The Food and Drug Administration's Psychopharmacologic Drugs Committee and the newly-formed Pediatric Advisory Committee have called for a "black box" warning that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant drugs carry a risk of suicidal behavior in children.
Following the children of September 11
October 1st 2004It is three years now since the calamity of September 11. Three years is long enough for researchers to count the number of children orphaned on that dreadful day and launch the earliest studies of how children react to what these experts call "traumatic bereavement."