Month: October 2013

According to a new survey, 77 percent of parents are looking for more online options when it comes to dealing with children's health care providers. The sticking point? They aren't willing to pay for it. According to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, half of respondents think that this type of online consultation should be free.

The poll surveyed 1,420 parents of children aged 0 to 17 years old. While most reported paying co-pays from $0 to $30 per visit to the pediatrician's office, the majority felt that email consultations should cost less – and as much as 48 percent reported that they felt this type of consultation should cost nothing at all.

"Most parents know it can be inconvenient to schedule and get to an office visit for a sick child. An email consultation would prevent the hassles of scheduling and allow sick children to remain at home … But many health care providers don't have co-pays established for this kind of consultation," Sarah Clark, M.P.H., associate director of the National Poll on Children's Health and associate research scientist in the University of Michigan Department of Pediatrics, told News Medical.

Clark also added that email consultation could provide a way for parents to consult a medical professional after office hours, a service that isn't often available and results in many unnecessary emergency room visits each year.

Concerns about online care
Health care providers still have a few concerns about online care, especially if the service is free. For one thing, answering these emails does require a certain amount of a health care professional's time, and depending on the volume of emails received, this could be detrimental and even financially prohibitive to the practice. Then there are the insurance providers to think about. This type of, presumably, low-budget care is exactly the sort of line item that frequently receives an upcharge in order to balance out more expensive types of care.

Another matter to consider is that a "free incentive" like the one many parents are calling for may prevent some from bringing a truly sick child to the doctor. This could delay critical care and result in potentially devastating side effects.

Why online care may not be such a bad idea
While there may be some kinks to work out, many parents and professionals argue that online health care can actually help the physician by reducing the amount of unnecessary office visits, freeing up time for things like vaccinations, preventative wellness exams and the truly serious cases.

Some advocates even argue that the process of sending an email is the equivalent of making a phone call directly to the doctor's office, a practice that many busy parents already engage in. It's not uncommon for a parent to call the pediatrician's office and describe symptoms in order to determine whether a visit to the physical office is necessary, and in many cases there's no charge for this type of service. It can be especially beneficial if the child is experiencing a flare-up of a chronic illness, and the mother or father simply wished the doctor to call in a prescription refill to treat the illness.

In fact, certain online services such as prescription filling or refilling already do exist. In many cases, the doctor will order the first round of treatment and the patient may request refills by going to a website and making the request. Many parents find this a worthwhile convenience.

FLAVORx makes medicinal flavorings that can be added to your child's prescription to make it taste better. Ask your pharmacist how you can get FLAVORx for your child.

A case of the measles is almost unheard of these days, largely due to the common vaccinations given to children. The measles, mumps, rubella shot, otherwise referred to as the MMR vaccine, is tremendously effective when it comes to preventing these illnesses. Unfortunately, the vaccination isn't an easy one for most kids to take, and often produces significantly unpleasant side effects, such as allergies, fever, glandular swelling, mild rash and stiffness of joints and muscles, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are even more severe side effects such as seizure, low blood platelet count and even potentially permanent brain damage.

The very real risks associated with measles
Despite the risks, most medical professionals agree that the risks associated with the shot are less dangerous than the side effects associated with the actual diseases, which are often deadly. According to the CDC, 3 to 4 million individuals were affected by measles annually in the decade before the vaccination was developed. Nearly 50,000 people were hospitalized each year, and approximately 500 of those who were infected died from the disease. A further 1,000 individuals developed chronic disability. The vaccination reduced these instances by 99 percent in the U.S. In 2012, only 55 cases of measles were reported.

Despite the progress seen by the U.S., many other countries still experience measles as a daily reality. Measles is highly contagious and able to spread very quickly. The CDC estimated that there were approximately 164,000 measles-related deaths worldwide in the year 2008, which amounts to 450 deaths per day and 18 per hour.

New hope for MMR vaccinations
Though the vaccinations are incredibly effective against the development of measles, many parents have trepidations about giving their children the shot due to the potentially harmful side effects. Fortunately, a new study provides new hope, finding that the side effects of the vaccination can be decreased by exposing young children to the vaccination earlier.

While most doctors recommend children receive the vaccination between 12 and 15 months of age, most children actually receive the shot between 12 and 23 months of age – and most receive the vaccination around 19 months. However, researchers from Kaiser Permanente Colorado's Institute for Health Research found that the immunization has the least potential for side effects when administered between the ages of 12 and 15 months.

Researchers looked at the data records of 840,000 children between the ages of 12 and 23 months who received the vaccine in the years between 2001 and 2011. They noted that, in the 10 days after vaccination, most children were likely to exhibit symptoms such as fever and seizure. However, the risk was significantly lower in those between the ages of 12 and 15 months than it was in those between the ages of 16 and 23 months. Instances of fever generally dropped off after 12 to 13 days. Researchers also noted that seizures were particularly prevalent in children between 16 and 18 months of age.

Rates of fever dropped steadily, however, 12 to 13 days after the first dose of the vaccine for children between 19 months and 23 months of age. Seizures, the study revealed, were most prevalent among children between 16 months and 18 months of age.

"We found that the magnitude of increased risk of fever and seizures following immunization with measles-containing vaccines during the second year of life depends on age," study lead author Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, M.D., said in a news release.

The study shows that parents shouldn't shy away from having their children vaccinated sooner rather than later, as most doctors recommend. Parents should always follow the recommendations of their pediatrician when it comes to medicating their children.

FLAVORx makes medicinal flavors that can be added to prescription medications to make medicine time easier for kids. Ask your pharmacist how you can get FLAVORx added to your child's prescription.

Sleep is one thing that Americans are short on these days, and this includes children. Like their adult counterparts, kids are staying up later, plugged into their computer screens and televisions. Most parents know that a good night's sleep is essential for their children to perform well in school and other areas, however new research shows that cutting sleep short can actually lead to both physical and mental illnesses.

One study published in the November 2013 issue of Pediatrics, entitled "Changes in Bedtime Schedules and Behavioral Difficulties in 7 Year Old Children," looked at the bedtimes and behavior patterns of children in the United Kingdom. The data was collected from more than 10,000 children in the UK Millennium Cohort Study, focusing on children at 3, 5 and 7 years of age. Researchers also factored in reports from parents, teachers and other adults associated with the children. What they found was that children with irregular bedtime habits were likely to begin exhibiting behavioral difficulties before the age of 7. The pattern was very clear: children who continued without a regular bedtime experienced worsening behavioral scores, however children who switched to a normal sleep schedule saw their behavioral scores improve. Study authors concluded that the behavioral difficulties may be caused by the disruption in circadian rhythms as well as the damaging effects of sleep deprivation on a developing brain, and that doctors may inquire about sleep patterns during regular health checkups."

Another study indicates that it's not only the regularity but also the duration of sleep that keeps us healthy. The study, published in the October 2013 issue of Sleep, suggests that regular sleep habits are essential for reducing the risk of physical illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease. In this study, researchers tracked more than 54,000 American adults in 14 states. Of the sample, almost two-thirds of participants (64 percent) received the optimal amount of sleep each night, which was factored in at 7 to 9 hours. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of participants were "short sleepers," receiving less than six hours per night, and the remaining few (4 percent) were "long sleepers" who received more than nine hours of sleep per night. The research showed that the short sleepers were more likely to exhibit diabetes, heart disease, obesity and frequent mental distress than those who received the recommended 7 to 9 hours. Perhaps surprisingly, the same was true for "long sleepers," who showed even higher instances of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

"Sleeping longer doesn't necessarily mean you're sleeping well," said Safwan Badr, M.D., president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "It is important to understand that both the quality and quantity of sleep impact your health . . . When and how you sleep is just as important as what you eat or how you exercise."

Study co-author Janet Croft,  a senior chronic disease epidemiologist in the division of population health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the relationships between shorter sleep durations and increased instances of illness may be attributed at least in part to the higher instances of obesity and mental distress. Like researchers in the prior study, Croft suggested that inquiries about sleep should be part of regular health examinations. "Physicians should consider monitoring mental health and body weight in addition to sleep health for patients with chronic diseases," said Croft.

As these studies show, sleep is an essential part of children's health. Children should receive at least at least 10.5 hours of sleep each night, while teens need approximately 8 to 9 hours, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Children's sleep is also important for keeping immunity levels up during cold and flu season. This fall and winter, make sure children are getting the requisite amount of sleep in order to stay healthy. If they do get sick, taking the prescribed medication from their pediatrician will reduce the chance of spread and help them get better faster.

FLAVORX makes medical flavorings that can make taking oral medications easier for children. Ask your pharmacist how you can get your child's prescription in his or her favorite FLAVORX flavor.