Child Health News

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Promoting safety of medicines for children

The lack of thorough and reliable clinical data on the way medicines affect children requires strengthened safety monitoring and vigilance of medicinal products.

24 Sep 2007

Insecticide-treated bednet coverage reduces child mortality by 44%

The use of insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) leads to a 44% reduction in child mortality.

24 Sep 2007

How can we improve teaching and learning in schools?

Britain's biggest-ever programme of education research has found at least some of the answers, and is sharing them with every school in Britain.

24 Sep 2007

Insight into the struggles of children with language impairments

For the first time, a new study has looked into how language impairments affect a child's ability to understand and retell a script-based story.

24 Sep 2007

APHA urges Bush to reconsider and sign the SCHIP bill

"President Bush stated this week that he intends to veto pending legislation that would reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which is set to expire Sept. 30. The bill would extend health coverage to approximately 4 million uninsured children and continue providing coverage to 6 million children.

23 Sep 2007

Cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in children reduced

The number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children has fallen since the introduction of a new vaccine a year ago. Enhanced surveillance by the UK's Health Protection Agency has shown that cases of IPD caused by the seven major types of the pneumococcus bacteria which the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) protects against have gone down by almost 50%.

20 Sep 2007

Cat scratch disease management in children

Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a bacterial infection that typically causes swelling of the lymph nodes.

20 Sep 2007

Experts say crib bumpers do more harm than good and should not be used

Researchers in the United States are warning that the soft cushioned bumpers used around cribs and bassinets, do more harm than good.

20 Sep 2007

Most children with cancer are well-adjusted expert says

Children under treatment for cancer are generally emotionally well-adjusted and no more depressed or anxious than other children their age, according to researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

18 Sep 2007

Recommendation that parents not use bumper pads in cribs or bassinets

Although bumper pads are theoretically designed to prevent injury to a baby while in the crib or bassinet, the risk of accidental death or injury to an infant from using them outweighs their possible benefits, according to a new study by pediatric researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

18 Sep 2007

Too tight socks on tiny tots leave lasting scars

While this is hardly life-threatening, the doctors say sock-line bands in some cases developed at just one week leaving raised, reddish markings around the ankle or leg.

18 Sep 2007

The benefits of a clean and healthy environment for children: what is the UK doing?

The Health Protection Agency has published a report summarising current initiatives which address children and young people's environment and health issues in the UK.

18 Sep 2007

Children's lazy eyes corrected with eye-patch over shorter period of time

British researchers say correcting a child's "lazy eye" with an eye patch all day to correct their vision, may be unnecessary.

17 Sep 2007

Benefits and risks of breastfeeding

Extensive medical research shows that mothers' milk satisfies babies' nutritional needs far better than any manufactured infant formula.

17 Sep 2007

Cholesterol tests at 15 months

Children could have their cholesterol levels tested at about 15 months of age to prevent heart disease later in life, say doctors in a study published on bmj.com today.

17 Sep 2007

Economic development linked to differences in rates of asthma symptoms

Children with allergic sensitizations in economically developed countries are much more likely to develop asthma than similarly sensitized children in poorer countries, according to a team of international researchers.

17 Sep 2007

Having an overweight mother increases child's chances of obesity

A fat mother hastens a child's path to obesity, finds a study published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

13 Sep 2007

Cholesterol testing at 15 months of age

Children could have their cholesterol levels tested at about 15 months of age to prevent heart disease later in life, say doctors in a study published on bmj.com today.

13 Sep 2007

Global child deaths have reached a record low

Global child deaths have reached a record low, falling below 10 million per year to 9.7 million, down from almost 13 million in 1990, according to UNICEF.

13 Sep 2007