Swimming: The source of many illnesses
Most kids’ favorite summer activity is swimming, no matter if it’s splashing in a small backyard pool, or on the beach of a five-star resort. But the reality is that no fun activity is totally safe and healthy. For information on water safety, see TenTips: Waterfront. For avoiding illnesses from [...]

Posted in Outdoor Recreation 1 Comment »
Tags: Diarrhea, Infants, Intestinal illnesses, Respiratory infections, Skin conditions, Sun exposure

The sun does to skin what tobacco smoke does to lungs. Both produce progressive, cumulative, and irreversible tissue damage, often culminating in very serious health issues many decades later.
But it need not happen. There are positive rays of sunshine, too: information on how to neutralize the harmful effects. Here is what you should know:
1. Don’t [...]

Posted in Sun No Comments »
Tags: Equator, Infants, Respiratory infections, Skin conditions, Sun exposure, Sunburn, Sunscreen, Toddlers

Visiting Mexico City: 7,550 feet. Viewing the Grand Canyon: 8,000 feet. Skiing in Colorado: 8,000 feet (with some slopes going higher.) Driving up Pike’s Peak: 14,000 feet. At these elevations most children run circles around their huffing and puffing parents. But some children will show symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS), and a rare child [...]

Posted in Outdoor Recreation No Comments »
Tags: Acetaminophen (Tylenol), Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), Altitude, Aspirin, Asthma, Coughs, Dehydration, Fatigue, Frostbite, Headache, Hypothermia, Ibuprofen (Advil Motrin), Infants, Intestinal illnesses, Loss of appetite, Nausea, Respiratory infections, Seizure disorders, Sleep, Sore throat, Sun exposure, Toddlers, Vomiting

1. Wash your hands frequently and before you eat.
While this is hardly breaking news, compliance remains poor. Proper hand hygiene (it’s no longer called hand washing) interrupts transmission of most diarrhea-causing micro-organisms. Such organisms abound in areas of poor sanitation. You acquire organisms via your hands, by touching doorknobs and money, and by shaking people’s [...]

Posted in Food & Water Precautions No Comments »
Tags: Diarrhea, Intestinal illnesses, Respiratory infections, Third world, Tropics

There is nothing novel about infants traveling by air. They have been doing so since time immemorial, long before adults. Legend has it that they were “delivered” by storks, and were never the worse for their trips. Of course, stork flights skimmed rooftops, eliminating concerns of high altitude and accompanying ear issues, dehydration, and excessive [...]

Posted in Travel No Comments »
Tags: Airplane, Allergies, Altitude, Dehydration, Diabetes, Ear infections, Immune problems, Infants, Intestinal illnesses, Newborns, Pregnant, Respiratory infections