Cough

Coughing is a common symptom associated with cold, flu, or viral infection. Coughs may sound miserable and awful for a small child, but it is not usually a sign of a serious illness. Cough helps clearance of mucus secretion that may block the airway and throat. Parents should not give a child younger than 6 years old any counter medication to relieve the congestion and cough. The better medicine for a child is no medicine. Food and Drug Administration has recommended no use of cough and cold medicine for children under the age of 2 in 2007 because of serious and potential life-threatening side effects (CNN News). A CDC report showed a link between cold medicines and emergency room visits in infants and toddlers (1,519 children in 2004-2005). Drug makers had changed the labels since then that cough medications are not recommended for children younger than 4 or 6 years old.

Studies have shown that cold and cough medications are not effective for treating cold symptoms in children and they are among the top ten reasons for toxic ingestions in children under 6. Parents should read labels carefully before they administrate any medication to a child and never ever give your child more medicine than recommended.

Toxicity, cough and cold preparation (e-medicine)

• Cough medicine poisoning in children (mnpoison.org)
• Before you buy children's cold medicines (about.com)

Help your child to relieve their congestion and cough.

• Steam: Have a pot of hot water on the table, and let the child breath the warm steam for 10 minutes. The warm stream can help relieve congestion. Just be careful, keep hands off the hot pot and no spill of hot water.
• Lots of fluids: chicken soup, broth, or water.
• Humidifier: humidifier helps with the discomfort of congestion but make sure to change filter and clean it frequently according to the manufacturer's instructions. Dirty humidifier is a culture ground for molds.
• Saline nasal wash or spray: suction bulb can be used for pull mucus out of the nose in a little child or infant who cannot blow their own noses. Gentle salt water wash can help cleaning out the mucus.
• Honey: Buckwheat honey has been shown to be an effective cough suppressant (ABC news). Honey can be given to children older than a year old. Honey may contain bacterial spores that produce clostridium botulinum and cause infant food poisoning. Infant younger than 1 year old cannot be given any honey.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Application of menthol or camphor to throat and chest topically.

Home Remedies for cold and cough (WebMed)

Summer Camps

It is time of the year again to find a summer camp for your child (or children). Parents should discuss selection of summer camps with their little camper(s) and find an age-proper summer camp with fun. There are some questions you should also consider when searching for summer camps.

1. What kinds of activity will your child enjoy most?
   

   
   

2. Where is the location of the summer camp?
   

   For your convenience, you do not wish to drive a long distance to drop and pick up your children.
   

3. What is the purpose of the camp?
   

   Sport, technology, art, writing, outdoor, general?
   

4. What is the age range of campers?
   

   It may not a good idea if your child is the youngest or oldest one in this summer camp.
   

5. What are the qualifications of the staff?
   

   Education, previous experiences of being camp instructors, certification of CPR and first aid etc.
   

6. What is the safety preparation or medical aids for the campers?
   

   
   

7. What is the ratio of staff and children?
   

   
   

8. What is the cost?
   

   
   

9. What is the cost for early arrival and extended hours?
   

   
   

10. Ask comments and feedback from friends or relatives who had experience with this camp.
    

    
    

11. Check on-line information to see if there is any complaint against the camp organization.
    

    
    

Mysummercamp.com

KinderCare

Masscamps.com

Emagination Computer Camps

Tech Camps

Before your kids are off to a summer camp, you should make sure that vaccinations of your child are up-to-date. Ask them to apply sunscreen and drink plenty of water in the camp. Also ask them to have fun and play safe.

Avandia

CNN news: Senate Finance Committee released a report on Saturday, stating that Avandia, a diabetes drug, is associated with tens of thousands of heart attacks. The drug maker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was aware of the cardiac risks and kept them from the public.

Rosiglitazone, as know as, Avandia, was introduced in 1999 and has been widely used as monotherapy or in fixed-dose combination with either metformin (Avandamet, GSK) or glimpiride (Avadaryl, GSK) for treating type II diabetes. Rosiglitazone is an agonist for peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-g). Avandia increases insulin sensitivity, reduces circulating insulin levels, and improves glycemic control in diabetic patients. Another PPAR agonist, troglitazone, was removed from the market because of its toxicity effects on liver. It is not surprising that Avandia has cardiac toxicity since peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma is involved in multiple signal transduction pathways.

The other possible side effects of Avandia include:

• Upper respiratory infection.
  
• Broken bones in women
  
• Headache
  
• Edema (swelling or water weight gain)
  
• Back pain
  
• Anemia
  

Medications often associate with some unwanted side effects. Drugs are approved due to greater benefits than the health risks in some classes of patients. A good example is anti-cancer drugs; most of small molecule anti-cancer drugs are toxic to cells. They are approved because they can prolong life.

Some of side effects are caused by drug-drug interaction in patients who are taking multiple medicines in a regular base. Patients need to read the labels and review the available info carefully. Talk to doctors or pharmacists to know your medications, and to have better control of your own health.

Prevention of diabetes is far more effective than any of the medications. Reduce sugar consumption, eat balance diet and keep moving.

Avandia information (RxList.com)

Avandia News (NY times)

Yahoo News

Sugar or artificial sweetener

The increasing consumption of sweetened drinks such as soda, juice, sport drinks, has posed a threat to public health. A number of diseases such as, diabetes, obesity, hypoglycemia and dental problems, have been associated with high intake of sugars. These sweet drinks contain a lot of calories with little or no nutritional benefit. Sugar also reduces immunity, interferes normal metabolism, and results in various harmful responses to your body. Given the fact that modern meals are rich in sugar, parents should watch sugar intake of their children. A healthy start is a good start for your child.

Although fruit juice is often given to young children as a healthy food, it is not as healthy as one would think. A 12-ounce of orange juice contains 180 calories which is equivalent of eating 3 chocolate cookies. Juice may contain vitamins but the major component is "high calories". The benefit is less than the harm for children who eat plenty of sugar or have weight problems. Young children feel full quickly if they drink a lot of juice and decrease the amount of food they eat. For adults or older children, juice adds excess calories and causes weight gain.

Evidently, Sodas and other sweetened drinks, which are full of sugar, are worse than juice. Many sodas also contain caffeine; they are no good to your children. So if we do the math and add up all the calories from sweet drinks, the number is easily over 360 calories if a child drinks more than 2 serves of sweet drinks per day.

Sweet drinks and obesity

Sugar is bad

Children are born with sweet tooth, parents should not take away their pleasure completely. One child can only be a child once and we need to let child have some fun for being a child. A lot of parents want to feed children all natural food. It is good only if the amount of sugar in daily diet is regulated. Children should drink plenty of water, nonfat milk and other beverages with little sugar, salt, or calories. I meant replacement of some juice with no calories such as sparkling water, diet sodas. This suggestion may sound outrageous to many parents; however, with consideration of all the health risk and benefits, it is a sensible thing to do.

There is no solid evidence suggesting an association of artificial sweeteners with cancer in humans. In an early study of laboratory animal suggested that cyclamate in combination with saccharin (e.g. Sweet'N Low) can cause bladder cancer in rats. However, subsequent studies have not produced the same results. In addition, human epidemiology studies have shown no association of saccharin with bladder cancer. The use of cyclamate is banned by FDA currently; the FDA's concerns about cyclamate are not cancer related.

The other popular artificial sweetener, aspartame (e.g. NutraSweet and Equal) was approved by FDA after numerous carcinogenicity studies which showed no adverse effects of aspartame in laboratory animals. The risk of aspartame to brain and central nervous system has been arisen, but no solid human epidemiology data support the risk. An animal study in which equivalent to drinking 8 to 2083 cans of diet soda was fed to laboratory rats and the rats had high incidences of lymphomas and leukemias in a dose-independent manner. A subsequent study showed no association of aspartame with development of brain cancer, lymphoma or leukemia. Aspartame warning has been appeared in many websites. The validation of risk may need to be assessed carefully for public health reason.

321 recipes.com

Earthclinic

Sucralose (e.g. Splenda), acesulfame potassium (e.g. Sweet one, Sunett) and Neotame are general sweeteners approved by the FDA after more than 100 safety studies. No cancer risk was found in these 100 plus experiments.

Artificial sweetener studies can be found in National cancer institute .

Juice does more harmful than good if excess amount is consumed. Generally, I will not categorize diet soda or diet drink as a healthy food, but with risk factors of diabetes and obesity in mind, ironically, diet soda and drink become healthy alternatives. Diabetes and Obesity pose immediate threats to our children and public health, a simple prevention is reduction of sugar consumption.

Artificial sweeteners in Mediciine Net

Diabetes statistics (American diabetes Association)

• In 2007, a total of 23.6 million children and adults in the US have diabetes (7.8% of the population)
  
• One of every 400-600 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes.
  

  
  

Obesity statistics

• 60 million Americans are overweight.
  
• Almost 20% of children in America are overweight.
  

  
  

Obesity statistics: Healthy American org

Obesity in the US (Wikipedia)

Child Obesity statistics (obesity.ygoy.com)

Child Tax Credit

You could claim your child, stepchild, adopted child, grandchild or great-grand child for child tax credit. Foster child is eligible only if the child was placed with you by a court or other authorized agency and the child must live with you for more than a half the year when the tax is filed. Form 1040 and 1040A can be used for the claim of child tax credit. The credit is $1,000 per child.

Qualifications for child tax credit:

• The dependent must be a U.S. citizen or resident
  
• The dependent is under age 17 at the end of the tax year
  
• Income limits for 2009 and 2010 tax years
  
  • Married and filing jointly: $110,000 AGI
    
  • Single: $75,000
    
  • Married but filing separate: $55,000
    
  • If the income exceeds the above limits, the credit is reduced by $50 for each $1000 that exceeds the income limit.

Toddler Sports

Sports which promote fitness and team works are good for children. Sports also help kids to develop their motor skills, coordination, confidence, and prevent obesity. However formal leagues may not be suitable for every young child. Children at 5 and younger may be too young for most types of organized sports due to lack of full comprehension and mature skills. Parents should make sports fun and less competitive for young children. Unstructured free plays such as: running, climbing, kicking, dancing, cycling, swimming, and dancing, are good choices for young children, and you could do it in your own backyard or home.

I let my children attend the "sport sampler" class in the YMCA for them to get a taste of different sports and for us to see if they show preferences for certain sports. Many sports class are offered by YMCA including: succor, basketball, T-ball, football, and baseball etc which children play in a team setting. We did not know what is the best one for our children. First, my kids did not follow instructions very well. Second, they had no idea about all these sports mentioned above. Their Dad and Mom are not hard-core sport fames and we don't watch any sport in a regular base. We have given up watching football and golf after my children were born and cartoons have became the major entertainment for my family. We hoped that the "sport sampler" would teach them team work, and good sportsmanship. At the meantime, we could assess their physical development such as motor skills, eye-and-hand coordination, and also we may know which sport they are most interested.

Toddler development

Preschooler development

There were two or three instructors in each class and there were about 12 little kids ranged from 3-5 years old. The sports they taught were including: basketball, baseball, football, succor, hockey, and a bouncy house at the final class. A good thing about the class is that each one of little kids was taught and practiced some basic skills for the sport. A bad thing is that there were lags for them to wait; most of them appeared to be bored. It was extremely funny to watch their responses. Some older kids would entertain themselves and play the available balls by themselves. Most of younger ones including my two either just chased each other around or sit there making faces. The class size might be too big, and too much waiting time, children actually did not get enough physical activity. I think, we will keep them running around in the yard and swimming in the weekends for now. We can send them to an organized sport again when they are 5 years old. Learning good sportsmanship may need to wait after they know which side of field they should run towards.

Infertility statistics

 

Common classes of fertility problems:

• Ovulatory failure (including polycystic ovary syndrome): 20%
  
• Tubal damage: 15%
  
• Endometrosis : 5%
  
• Male problems: 26%
  
• Unexplained: 30%
  
• Combination: (more than 2 factors): 4%
  

Infertility data for the U.S. (data published in CDC)

• Number of women ages 15-44 with impaired fecundity (impaired ability to have children): 7.3 million
  
• Percent of women ages 15-44 with impaired fecundity: 11.8%
  
• Number of married women ages 15-44 that are infertile (unable to get pregnant for at least 12 consecutive months): 2.1 million
  
• Percent of married women ages 15-44 that are infertile: 7.4%
  
• Number of women ages 15-44 who have ever used infertility services: 7.3 million
  

About one-thirds of couples in which the women is over 35 have fertility problems. Today, about 20% of women in the US have their first child after age 35.

Infertility in men:

• Variococele: the veins on one's testicles are too big and generate too much heat affecting the number or shape of the sperm.
  
• Few or no sperm
  
• Sperm motility is low
  

Infertility risk factors:

• Smoking
  
• Heavy alcohol drinking
  
• Under-or overweight
  
• Drugs
  
• Environmental toxins, lead and pesticides
  
• Medications
  
• Radiation treatment and chemotherapy for cancer
  
• Stress
  
• Ages
  
• Health problems
  

One thirds of couples treated for infertility go on to have babies.

IVF or ART success rate in 2007 (CDC reports, US):

Under 35 years of age: 39.6%

Age 35-37: 30.5%

Age 38-40: 20.9%

Age 41-42:11.5%

 

IVF data: HFEA (UK)(BBC news)/ Success rates in 2007

Under 35: 32.3%

35-37: 27.7%

38-39: 19.2%

40-42: 11.9%

43-44: 3.4%

Over 44: 3.1%

 

Infertility websites

Womenshealth.gov (US department of health & human services)

Fertility statistics and facts (Docshop.com)

Anti-aging cream

Common Anti aging Tips:

1. No smoking
2. Protect from the sun
3. Healthy diet rich in antioxidants
4. Clean skin
5. Moisturize and exfoliate
6. Exercise
7. Drink water
8. Stress free
9. Food supplement: Q10, vitamins, minerals
10. Do drink too much alcohol
11. Drink green tea

The quality of facial creams are not determined by the cost. Sometime, a cheap moisturizer would work well if it fits your skin type. Products, such as Johnson's Baby oil,  can keep skin soft and it is inexpensive (how to moisturize your skin using baby oil-ehow).

In the web: Buzzle.com
Fresh longer.com
Common ingredients in anti-wrinkle creams:

• Retinol
• Hydroxyl acid
• Coenzyme Q10
• Copper peptides
• Kinetin
• Tea extracts

I got lost by looking at all the products of anti-wrinkle creams in the information highways. Here is some info from ten websites. A good product should appear in multiple sites and the product should suit individual's needs. The ones recommended by multiple sites (greater than three times) are highlighted in Red.
Top anti-wrinkle creams (Chatham Journal weekly):there is no correlation between price and effectiveness.

• Olay Regenerist
• Lancome Paris Renergie

Skin care beauty zone (top 10 anti-wrinkle creams)

1. StriVectin-SD
2. Freeze 24/7
3. Alpha Derma CE
4. Athena Seven Minute Lift
5. The Dermajuv Complete Rejuvenation system
6. Lifecell Skin anti-aging wrinkle cream
7. Revitol complete anti-aging package
8. Preve Extreme anti-aging cream
9. Aveeno positively radiant anti-wrinkle cream
10. 
    
    Dr Brandt crease release
    
    

Ezine articles.com (best anti-wrinkle creams)

1. Athena seven minutes Lift
2. Freeze 24/7
3. 
   
   AlphaDerma CE
   Quote: finding the best anit-wrinkle cream gets a bit harder after the top three.
4. Deception Wrinkle cream
5. 
   
   Hydroderm wrinkle cream
   
   

Best anti aging creams.com (top 10 anti-wrinkle creams)

1. Xtendlife.org Skin care creams
2. Promaxy intensive deep wrinkle treatment
3. Life Cell anti-wrinkle creams
4. Olay Regenerist Deep Hydration regenerating cream
5. Perlier Royal Gelee Energizing anti-aging Beauty cream
6. Athena 7 minute Lift
7. Ageless anti-aging serum
8. Pearl and Gold Cream
9. Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv ultimate Lifting cream
10. 
    
    Skinceuticals Renew overnight
    
    

Hub Pages (top 10 anti-wrinkle creams)

1. The Dermajuv Complete Rejuvenation system
2. Princess Livia Bee Pollen Nectar face cream
3. AlphaDerma CE
4. Revitol Complete anti-aging package
5. Freeze 24-7
6. Clarins multi-active day early wrinkle correction cream
7. Athena 7 minute Lift
8. Relastin Skin revitalize
9. Strivectin SD
10. 
    
    Dr Brandt Crease Release
    
    

Ageless beauty (top 10 anti-wrinkle creams)

1. Peter Thomas Roth un-wrinke
2. Peter Thomas Roth Mega Rich eye cream
3. ReVive moisturizing renewal cream
4. Strivectin-SD
5. Strivectin-HS
6. Revaleskin with coffeeberry day cream SPF15
7. Skinceuticals C+E ferulic
8. Cellex-C high potency serum
9. Prevage anti-aging
10. 
    
    Kinerase pro+therapy ultra rich night repair
    
    

Anti-aging skin care 101.com (top 10 anti-wrinkle creams)

1. Dermology anti-aging skin care system
2. Xtendlife anti-aging creams
3. Prototype 37-C
4. Dermavexin
5. Prevera
6. Revitol
7. StriVectin SD
8. Promaxyl Intensive deep wrinkle treatment.
9. Life cell anti-wrinkle creams
10. 
    
    Guerlain success model smoothing mask
    
    

Anti-aging 911.com (best anti-wrinkle creams)

1. Skin Medica TNS recovery complex
2. StriVectin-SD
3. Skinceuticals Renew
4. Arbonne Nutrimin C RE9
5. Nivea Visage Q10 Wrinkle control

Consumer product review.org (best anti-wrinkle creams)

• Avotone
• Revitol
• Stri-Vectin SD
• 
  
  OHT Peptide-3
  
  

Wrinkle cream reviews.org (best anti-wrinkle creams)

• Dermajuv Complete Rejuvenation review
• LifeCell skin
• Athena 7 minute lift
• Revitol
• 
  
  AlphaDerma CE
  
  

Consumer wrinkle review.com (best anti-wrinkle creams)

• Prototype 37-C
• Dermavexin
• Renuvie
• Revitol
• 
  
  Strivectin SD
  
  

Peanut Allergy

Peanut allergy affects 1.3% of the general US population (medicine). 150 deaths each year caused by food allergies and 50% of them are resulted from peanut allergy (US news). The allergic reaction to peanuts usually occurs within minutes after exposure. The common routes of exposure are:

1. Direct contact: Eating peanut is the most common cause. Sometime, skin contact with peanuts can also trigger an allergic reaction.
   


2. Cross-contact: Parents need to read all the labels if their child has peanut allergy. Peanuts contamination may occur during processing or handling of a food product in a food process facility which uses peanuts or peanut oil as a component for other products.
   


3. Inhalation: It is caused by dust or aerosols containing peanuts, such as peanut oil cooking spray or peanut flour.
   

The common symptoms in mild cases of peanut allergy include:

• Skin redness, hives or swelling.


• Itching or tingling in or around the throat and mouth.


• Diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting
  
• Tightening of the chest


• Wheezing, shortness of breath.


• Running or stuffy nose.
  

Anti-histamine can be used for treating mild peanut allergies.

The life-threatening condition, anaphylaxis, occurs in most cases of peanut allergy, that can block airways and breathing. Parents of an allergic child or infected individuals should carry Epi-pen all the time. Check the expiration date of Epi-pen and make sure that it is not expired. Renew prescriptions regularly.

• Swollen throat that makes difficult to breath.


• Anaphylaxis shock with a drop in blood pressure.
• Arrhythmia
  
• Loss of consciousness


• Inject epinephrine using (EpiPen, twinject) immediately.


• Seek emergency treatment
  

Some peanut allergy patents are also allergic to tree nuts. There is a small percentage of children may grow out of peanut allergy, parents should take their child to test allergens later to know child's allergens in a hospital visit. Do not test your child at home by yourself. Professions in hospitals or clinics can provide emergency care if a bad reaction occurs.

It is a myth of increase in peanut allergies in recent decades. It is controversy that should a pregnant woman eat peanuts or peanut products. March of Dimes says "Yes" if the mother is not allergic to peanuts. But there are some reports saying, No.

Immune tolerance to peanuts in children may be induced. An experimental therapy conducted by Duke Medical Center in which they feed children small amount of allergen (peanuts) daily in hospital (US news). It is good news to peanut suffers, but parents should try it at home; it can be only performed by medical centers. In addition, the safety and result needs to be confirmed in a big scale of study.

Peanut allergy is a terrifying disease. Parents of an allergic child should be very careful about the food given by others such as: sample food in the supermarket, snacks from play dates, good bags from birthday parties. Read compositions carefully and ask the person who provides the unlabeled food, or eat first by yourself, to make sure there is no peanut before you feed your child. It is a matter of life and death, ignorance is not an option.

More information on peanut allergy:

MayoClinic : peanut allergy

Peanut free food

Peanut allergy-overview (webmed)

Nut and peanut allergy (kidshealth.org)

Peanutallergy.com: peanut allergy prevention

For people without peanut allergy, enjoy peanuts and other nuts. They are good for you.

Pregnancy Exercises

Exercise does wonders to all people of all ages including, pregnant women. It can increase circulations, and reduce aches and pains. Exercise can also improve sleep, stretches muscle and prepare pregnant women for childbirth. Know your body limit and only do activities which are safe and convenient to you. Select different kinds of exercise during pregnancy which depends on your physical conditions. Be active and safe always. Do not do something posing risks of falling, such as riding bicycle, roller skating and ski. If you have never exercised before the pregnancy, do not stress yourself for harsh exercise, nor try something you would never done before.

Safety is the top priory.

• Walking: It is my favor exercise. It does not pose high pressure to the knees and ankles and everyone can do anywhere. Thirty-minutes per day if you could do it.
  




• Stretching: gentle rotation of neck, arms, shoulder. Lift legs.
  




• Yoga
  




• 
  
  
  Swimming: only if you are comfortable with water. It is a whole body exercise for all the muscle groups.
  
  
  
  
  

Demonstrations of slow exercise:

Babyfit.com

Mama's health

Baby Center: stretching

===============================================================================================

Job Search Engines

1. SimplyHired
   
2. Indeed
   
3. Monster
   
4. USA.gov: US government job
   
5. Career builder
   
6. Dice
   
7. Linkup
   
8. LinkedIn
   
9. Yahoo hot jobs
   
10. Jobster

Best 100 companies to work for (2010 list)(Fortune)

Work at home job listing: Do not pay anyone to work from home. Be careful about the scams.

Mama, what is for dinner?

Toddlers and preschoolers like to play and often forget to eat unless they are really hungry. In addition, most of them are picky eaters and not willing to try new foods. Feeding them can be a challenge to parents. But parents should not worry too much and force child to eat when the child is not hungry. As long as they are active, healthy, growing and developing normally, they probably have plenty to eat. Parents should feed children a variety of food and balance the food they eat with physical activity. Ideally, children diet should be low in fat and contain moderate in sugars and salts.

To start a healthy eating behavior, parents should apply the food guide pyramid to kids; just the serving size is smaller (wholesometoddlerfood.com).

The food guide pyramid for young children

Grain group: 6 servings, such as 1 slice of bread, ½ cup of cooked rice or pasta, ½ cup of cooked cereal, and 1 ounce of ready to eat cereal.

Vegetable group: 3 servings, such as ½ cup of chopped or raw vegetables, or 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables.

Fruit group: 2 servings, 1 piece of fruit or melon wedge, ¾ cup of 100% fruit juice, ½ cup of canned fruit, or ¼ cup of dried fruit.

Milk group: 2 servings, 1cup of milk or yogurt, or 2 ounces of cheese.

Meat group: 2 servings, such as 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish, ½ cup of cooked dry beans.

Fats and oil: no more than 30% of the diet should come from fats. Limit saturated fats to no more than 10% of daily calories.

Sweets and pure sugars: limit sweets and intake of pure sugars. Sugar does a lot of harm to our bodies and it is a good thing to keep them away from the little ones. The average American consumes 2-3 pounds of sugar each week which is an astounding amount. Many diseases can be linked to the high intake of pure sugars. Children are born to be attracted to candy. It is no fun to take all the candies away from them, but we can limit sweets and culture their appetites for other good food. Fresh fruits and moderate amount of juice are good alternatives.

Feeding your toddler

Toddler food recipes

Baby and toddler recipes

Park Lunch for toddler

Toddler finger foods

Food for tots