Bambini Newsletter   November 15, 2011

Volvulus:  The Story of A Brave Little Girl    


lilliThis last summer, a little girl from our practice that had just turned two began having tummy aches. She had generally enjoyed good health. When first-line measures such as probiotics and herbal teas failed to provide relief, we referred her to Dr. Erena Treskova, an integrative pediatric gastroenterologist. A number of tests were ordered.

 

It seemed she had some constipation, and it was noted that her mom was scheduled for major surgery. Were the stomachaches, then, a tension-stress response? That's often the case. Still, her folks were quite worried and pressed for an answer.

 

Finally, (click here to continue...). 

Leaving Early Adolescents Unattended    


home aloneA couple years ago, an attorney mentioned in passing that he was defending the father of a ten year-old boy. Dad had put his son to bed and left to go buy him some food for breakfast. The son woke and called his mom (the parents were estranged). Mom called CPS. Dad was charged with neglect.

 

At about the same time, a local school sent home a flier for an American Red Cross Babysitting Course. The course is offered to children 11 to 15 years of age. Does it make sense that a parent of a 10 year-old that leaves his son unattended for a half-hour can get into serious trouble, but the parents of a six month-old infant can leave the baby in the care of their 11 year-old daughter with impunity? This raises even more questions:

  • How does a parent decide whether or not to leave their child(ren) home alone these days?
  • Where can parent go to for advice if they're not sure?
  • What if their child has special needs?

(To continue, click here... ) 

Infant Eye Exams  

glassesRecently, we heard about an interesting service called InfantSEE. Under this program, certified optometrists provide comprehensive eye and vision assessments for infants within the first year of life regardless of a family's income or access to insurance coverage.

 

For some subtle conditions such as amblyopia and astigmatism, optometrists are much better than pediatricians at making an early diagnosis. And early diagnosis can be quite important. One local optometrist we know well that has signed on with InfantSEE is Dr. Robert Greenbaum.

Angry Moms           


logoFrench Toast Sticks, Pop Tarts, Mozzarella Sticks...  Not anyone's idea of healthy food, and yet these items have appeared on school lunch menus in our community - as the main course no less!  We all know there is a crisis of obesity, type II diabetes, asthma, learning, behavioral and emotional disorders among America's children.  What can concerned parents do?

 

One option might be to join Two Angry Moms - a grassroots effort that aims to send a send a clear message to school officials acknowledging the connection between whole, nutritious food and better children's health and scholastic performance.

 

Other resources to be aware of include:

·  The LunchBox --  a non-profit whose intention is to provide tools that enable all schools, parents, advocates, students, administrators, teachers and food service staff to progress from serving highly processed, unhealthy food to serving fresh, scratch-cooked food.

·  SaladBars2Schools -- is a grassroots public health effort to mobilize and engage stakeholders at the local, state and national level to support salad bars in schools.

Erratum             


An astute reader of our October newsletter has pointed out that pine needle tea, based on anectodal evidence, should probably not be consumed by pregnant (and possibly even nursing) women.