A roundup of recent newspaper stories about children's health...
Monday, Nov. 20:
Child Mental Health Problems Hard to Diagnose, Doctors Say
This second article in an occasional New York Times series on
child mental health discusses the difficulty doctors face in diagnosing
mental health problems in children. The article describes how children
who have many symptoms often are given several diagnoses -- and medications
-- by different doctors who disagree. (NY Times, 11/11/06, by Carey)
Whooping Cough Outbreak in Palo Alto
Seven cases of pertussis, an infection also known as whooping
cough, have been confirmed at Palo Alto High School , and county health
officials suspect 37 more. Officials are encouraging all Palo Alto students
to get a booster shot to protect against the disease. (SJ Mercury, 11/14/06,
by Lyons and Noguchi)
FDA Urges Monitoring of Children on Flu Drug
The Federal Drug Administration has alerted doctors and parents
to watch for signs of bizarre behavior in children treated with the flu
drug Tamiflu. The warning is based on an increasing number of individuals
reporting delirium, hallucinations, and other abnormal behavior, as well
as three deaths in Japan. Because most of these cases involve children,
the FDA has suggested that Tamiflu updates its label recommending that
all patients, especially children, be closely monitored while on the drug.
(NY Times, 11/14/06 )
Industry Revises Guidelines for Advertising to Children
On Tuesday, the advertising industry updated the 32-year-old
guidelines used by the Children's Advertising Review Unit to ensure that
television commercials, magazine ads and websites aimed at children under
12 are truthful, accurate, and appropriate. The revisions were coupled
with a voluntary effort from 10 food and beverage companies to devote
half of their advertising to promoting healthier dietary and/or lifestyle
choices to children. (SF Chronicle, 11/15/06, by Shin)
|
to receive e-mail digests about local children's health events and news regarding preteens.
|
