Another one of our goals in producing Health Tips for Success is to help you and your family find solutions to those little ups and downs in life that tend to keep all of us from being as successful as possible. We hope you find this issue of Health Tips for Success to be useful in some small way, as you and your loved ones travel life’s different paths. All articles are derived from published materials, educational sources and years of experience for each author. Of course, in times of need, no e-newsletter should ever take the place of your family doctor or professional counselor. If you have comments or questions, please drop me a line at drfrank@drhuggiebear.com.

A new intranasal vaccine for influenza, “FluMist”, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in late 2003. The vaccine is made from three live viruses (Moscow, Hong Kong, and Caledonia) that have been modified to stimulate your immune system and offer protection against the expected flu strains for this winter.

Attenuated live viruses have been used in the past in other vaccines such as the oral Saban polio vaccine and are generally safe in healthy persons. “FluMist” is approved for use in healthy persons aged 5 through 49 years. Children ages five through eight would receive two doses sixty days apart and all others would require only one dose.

Since it is sprayed into the both sides of the nose instead of injected, kids are of course much happier to have the immunization. Adults seem to tolerate the aerosol well and like the rapid way in which they can be immunized. Overall, the ease of administration should result in more persons getting immunized, and that should lead to less absenteeism from work and school and fewer deaths from influenza.

From a workplace standpoint, studies have shown that immunizing all workers at an average cost of $43 would result in a break-even status with regard to loss work productivity hours. Since between 5% and 15% of the adult U.S. population suffers from the flu and it’s complications of pneumonia per year, prevention would overall help our society by decreasing the insurance and work related costs of having the flu.

The old injectable flu vaccine will still be used in all persons with asthma or other lung problems, heart disease, immune disorders, and those older than age 49. Side effects include mild fevers, head cold symptoms, and the usual aches and pains resulting in decreased activity. For more information, visit http://www.preventinfluenza.org.

Since we provide medical care for so many kids, we’re asked this question at least a dozen times a week in our family medicine practice. While there are no hard and fast rules about when to keep a sick child home from school, over the last five years, more and more references can be found in Pediatrics literature that hopefully will give you the parent some loose guidelines to follow.

Contagious illnesses in schools, nurseries and daycare centers are usually passed from child to child by droplets suspended in the air from coughing and sneezing, direct contact with objects that have those droplets or “snot” deposited on them, or from hand contact with contaminated bowel movement. In defense of daycare centers and other schools, it’s virtually impossible to keep a child from coughing or sneezing on other kids or scratching his butt and handling toys before his hands can be washed. That’s why preventing the spread of childhood disease should start at home before the illness goes too far.

Medical reports clearly state that children should not be kept home from school for mild respiratory illnesses such as head colds without fever or a productive cough. However, you should use the following “guidelines” to judge the difference between mild and more severe illnesses.

You should not send your child to school if he or she:

• Has a fever above 100.4 degrees orally or 99.4 degrees rectally (please note that skin and ear digital thermometers are very unreliable!)
  
   
• Is irritable, cries constantly, or seems very sleepy or difficult to awaken
  
   
• Is hard to keep awake and refuses to eat normally
  
   
• Has difficulty breathing or seems to be breathing more rapidly than usual
  
   
• Had diarrhea in the past twelve hours that would run out of a diaper, has a foul infected type odor, or would be so difficult to control that your child could not make it to the toilet without soiling clothing or messing up the bathroom or classroom
  
   
• Has vomited two or more times in the past 24 hours or once in the past eight hours
  
   
• Complains of constant stomach pains or walks stooped over and holding his stomach
  
   
• Has sores in the mouth or is drooling because it hurts to swallow
  
   
• Has a skin rash that includes pus bumps, water blisters, or oozing crusty areas (impetigo), or is associated with fever
  
   
• Has pinkness or redness in the whites of eyes with crusting or drainage of yellow or green pus
  
   
• If skin or whites of eyes become yellow or jaundiced
  
   
• Has untreated head lice, scabies, or strep throat
  
   
• Has an unexplained swollen joint, arm or leg and won’t move the arm or stand on the leg
  
   
• Has a headache for more than twelve hours not relieved by Tylenol
  
   
• Has a croupy or wheezy cough or coughs up a lot of green or yellow phlegm
  
   
• Has a change in behavior or doesn’t act “normal”

There are many other signs of serious illness in children that we have not covered. Our advice is simply to use common sense in deciding whether your child acts “normal enough” to send him or her to school.

Hopefully you can use these rough guidelines to help decide when to keep your sick child home from school or daycare. Since you know your child’s normal appetite, how energetic he is, how often she urinates or poops, and how he or she ordinarily “looks” when not sick, you are the best judge of when to keep them home.

When our kids were in daycare, we developed a feel for when to keep them at home and trusted that other parents would do the same to avoid spreading diseases throughout the entire nursery and daycare population. I’m sure you’ll do the same, since I know that you would not do anything to place someone else’s child at risk of a contagious illness.

For further information, please see articles on “How to choose a daycare provider for your child” and “When can I send my sick kids back to school?”.

Managing behavioral problems in oppositional kids is sometimes like riding a bucking bronco; you’re gonna get thrown off more than not until you get good at it. Yes, you will be frustrated, angry, may be embarrassed and feel hurt, but you have to learn how to ride in order to stay in the saddle.

You may ask why are some children oppositional or negative toward everything you say or do? The basic problem lies in the child’s perceived sense of “need to be in control”. This is especially true in oppositional teens who feel even more threatened when they think they are not in control of a situation. So, how is a parent to deal with oppositional kids?

• Parents must remain in control of their emotions, not the child’s.
  
   
• Avoid threatening in any manner. It is harmful and never works in the long run.
  
   
• Do not create a situation where the child is made to feel guilty.
  
   
• Be prepared to deal with the behavior with actions, not words. Actions are always more effective than words.
  
   
• Decide on reasonable limits for your child in advance, not at the time you are both angry and frustrated.
  
   
• Act as a teacher with genuine concern for your child’s problem. Avoid lecturing, it is always a turn off and causes even more frustration for both of you.
  
   
• Be prepared to take a few steps back and look at the problem with a fresh eye. You may need to ask your child’s teacher, doctor, a friend, or a counselor to help.
  
   
• Expect to have setbacks or be “thrown from that mustang” without it being a major event or so frustrating that you want to give up.
  
   

The last piece of advice is probably the most important of all in dealing with your kids. Both parents must be consistent in meaning what they say and following through with promises. Otherwise, guess who is still in control?

Researchers point out that there doesn’t appear to be any consistency from brand to brand and most bottles did not carry dates of expiration. It is possible that cichoric acid degrades even in a sealed bottle and should carry an expiration date based on the age of the plant used to make the supplement.

“My new E-newsletter is just around the corner!” Said Uncle Frank to the Hooterville Gazette reporter. If all goes well and “the creeks don’t rise” and once uncle Frank gets off vacation, “Uncle Frank’s Tips for Success in Business” should be available for your review. That’s gonna be in about four to five weeks, according to The Hooterville Gazette. Uncle Frank plans to offer even more down to earth, common sense advice for the everyday hard working employee or business owner. His new newsletter, “Uncle Frank’s Tips for success in business” should give rare insight into dealing with the ups and downs of the workplace.
If you have any thoughts you’d like to share, or suggestions for topics, please drop Uncle Frank an e-mail at frankjones@drhuggiebear.com

Valuable resources and newsletters for your family!

Kid Safe Web Surfing

 

Worried about your 6 to 14 year old surfing the web safely?  Then Garfield Island may be the answer! This software application is easy to install and lets parents protect their children while having loads of fun on the web. Garfield Island includes kid safe browsers, “talking e-mail”, closed chat rooms, and allows parents to select and allow or restrict access from a list of over 7,500 pre-screened websites. You can even customize the access list to expand your kid’s on-line experience. Garfield Island may just provide you with peace of mind while allowing your child the freedom to explore his.

Printed and video learning materials for behavior problems of all types are available from the A.D.D. Warehouse. This is one of the best sources for ADHD books and learning-teaching programs.