Bambini Newsletter April 2014

Dew Drops on Rose Petals
April is traditionally peak season for chickenpox. This year, the incidence on the region is considerably higher than average. Listen to what one of our practitioners has to say about that, as well as the rise in shingles, by clicking here.

Could Your Child be Color-Blind?

Color blindness affects about 3.8% of children aged between 6 and 11 years, with boys about 13 times more likely to be affected than girls. There are many kinds. The most common is called deuteranomaly. Research published this month broke the risks down a little further.

In this new population study, about 4,000 preschoolers from southern California were checked using "Color Vision Testing Made Easy" Plates. 59 boys and 4 girls tested positive. The risk was lowest in black children (1.4%), intermediate in Asian and Hispanic (3.1%, 2.6% respectively), and highest in whites (5.6%).

If we do the math, there are about 150 children in our practice that are color blind! Almost all are boys. Most are Caucasian. What might a concerned parent do? Can your son make out the number buried in the dots above?

One thought would be to administer a screening test (such as this online one -- click here) at home. If results are suspicious, consider an appointment at our office -- we now have a set of the plates used in the study cited above.

Thiamine: A Cure for Stuttering?

Stuttering is said to affect 5% of children (this number seems a bit high in our experience). Boys are affected 3 to 4 times more commonly than girls. Onset typically occurs between the age of 2.5 and 4 years. 75% of cases spontaneously remit, leaving about 1% of older kids and adults with the concern.

Back in 1991, researchers from Poland noted that 47% of elementary school-age children that stutter have low levels of magnesium in their blood. Sadly, because magnesium is too inexpensive and safe, no one has ever funded a real study of magnesium supplements as a remedy. But since that time, there have been plenty of anecdotes (including our own experience) that's shown a modest benefit.

In 2002, based on a very small study published 50 years earlier, Dr. Martin Schwartz, executive director of the National Center for Stuttering, began a study in adults on supplemental vitamin B1 (thiamine) in adult men with refractory stuttering. His results? About 30% experience a response - some were even cured. How cool is that? For more info, click here.

Lesson in Label-Reading

Last week, a conscientious parent brought her little girl in for a consultation on learning delay with attention span concerns. We asked about omega-3 in diet -- no much; but mom felt she was compensating for that with two gummies per day.

Since she actually brought the bottle in, we flipped it over and reviewed the content: 32 mg of DHA and 10 mg of EPA. per serving. We then grabbed a bottle of Carlson fish oil from our apothecary. One teaspoon contains 500 mg of DHA and 800 mg of EPA. The gummies also dish out over 3,000 mg of sugar; fish oil -- none.

For most kids, and especially those with learning or attention issues, we recommend a teaspoon of fish or cod liver oil per 50 pounds of body weight per day (that's actually 1600 mg of total marine omega-3 -- it includes some DPA as well). To get that from Little Critters, mom would have to pump about 80 gummies into her little girl!

On a positive note, this brand does not contain artificial flavors or colors. It also contains some ALA, a plant omega-3 that some but not all kids can convert into DHA and EPA (the stuff we need to maintain brain health). But still, there's no contest here.

Of note, we can now test your child for omega 3 and 6 levels. Quest Diagnostics has a reasonably simple test. Labcorp reports are a bit busier but we know what to look for.

Light on Lyme
Our very own Somer DelSignore C-PNP will be joining the likes of speakers Richard Horowitz MD and Congressman Chris Gibson at this WildEarth Event on May 4th in Rosendale NY. Please click here for details.

Goat Milk Formula
A few weeks back, a parent shared a link with us to an informative blog post on homemade goat milk formula. The actual recipe card can be found here. The Bambini apothecary stocks a modest supply of Nanny Care, a powdered goat milk from New Zealand that another parent recently brought to our attention. Opinions on goat milk vary. Although Dr. Sears is a proponent, others have strong concerns.

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