Pertussis
An illness to take seriously!Cases of Pertussis ( whooping cough) have recently risen in Central Pennsylvania . Please watch the video below to educate yourself about this illness that can be deadly to infants and the elderly.
https://youtu.be/8QWdEwjBEBw
Head Lice
If you think your child may have contracted head lice, please call the school nurse as soon as possible. She will be able to diagnose if your child actually has the condition and provide helpful ideas for treatment. It is extremely important to be aware of what treatments you are applying to your child's scalp. Overuse of certain treatments can be harmful to your child's health. Please ask for the school nurse's assistance!
The head louse, or Pediculus humanus capitis, is a parasitic insect that can be found on the head, eyebrows, and eyelashes of people. Head lice feed on human blood several times a day and live close to the human scalp. Head lice are not known to spread disease.
Who is at risk for getting head lice?
Head lice are found worldwide. In the United States, infestation with head lice is most common among pre-school children attending child care, elementary schoolchildren, and the household members of infested children. Although reliable data on how many people in the United States get head lice each year are not available, an estimated 6 million to 12 million infestations occur each year in the United States among children 3 to 11 years of age. In the United States, infestation with head lice is much less common among African-Americans than among persons of other races, possibly because the claws of the of the head louse found most frequently in the United States are better adapted for grasping the shape and width of the hair shaft of other races.
Head lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. Head lice are spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. Anyone who comes in head-to-head contact with someone who already has head lice is at greatest risk. Spread by contact with clothing (such as hats, scarves, coats) or other personal items (such as combs, brushes, or towels) used by an infested person is uncommon. Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice.
What do head lice look like?
Head lice have three forms: the egg (also called a nit), the nymph, and the adult.
Egg/Nit: Nits are lice eggs laid by the adult female head louse at the base of the hair shaft nearest the scalp. Nits are firmly attached to the hair shaft and are oval-shaped and very small (about the size of a knot in thread) and hard to see. Nits often appear yellow or white although live nits sometimes appear to be the same color as the hair of the infested person. Nits are often confused with dandruff, scabs, or hair spray droplets. Head lice nits usually take about 8 9 days to hatch. Eggs that are likely to hatch are usually located no more than ¼ inch from the base of the hair shaft. Nits located further than ¼ inch from the base of hair shaft may very well be already hatched, non-viable nits, or empty nits or casings. This is difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.
Please visit the following link for more information:
http://http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/gen_info/faqs.html
Apr 01, 2015
By: Georgina Peacock, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Susanna Visser, DrPH, MS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
ADHD
Has your child been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? If so, like many other parents, you may be struggling with how to best treat your child's symptoms. These decisions are often complicated, scary, and stressful.
A lot of information on ADHD exists online and this can lead parents in different directions, unsure of what treatment is best for their child. The good news is that researchers are learning more about ADHD all the time. We know a lot more today about how to help children with ADHD thrive at home, at school, and socially with friends.
Most children with ADHD ages 4-17 are receiving either medication or behavioral therapy for the disorder. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) gives this advice to healthcare providers, psychologists, educators, and parents of children with ADHD:
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For preschoolers ages 4-5 with ADHD, use behavioral therapy before medication.
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For older children and teens with ADHD, use behavioral therapy along with medication.
Effective behavioral therapy for children with ADHD involves parent training and education. This therapy helps to improve child behavior by building parenting skills, improving the relationship between parents and their child with ADHD, and helping children manage their own behaviors. Behavioral therapy is an important part of treatment for children with ADHD of all ages, and it is the most appropriate treatment for children under the age of 6.
It can often be challenging to find behavioral therapy or other psychological resources. CDC encourages healthcare providers, psychologists, and educators to familiarize themselves with the available psychological resources in their communities in order to best guide patients and their families. Also, amidst all of the information available, we encourage families to look for evidence-based information (facts, not myths) from credible sources. Discuss with your child's healthcare provider the treatment options consistent with AAP guidelines, including behavioral therapy.
Recommended resources to review include:
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CDC's resource page on ADHD treatment http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/treatment.html
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The National Resource Center on ADHD, a program from the group, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), can help. This organization, funded by CDC, is the national clearinghouse for the latest evidence-based information on ADHD. They provide comprehensive information and support to individuals with ADHD, their families and friends, and the professionals involved in their lives.
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A review of effective treatments for preschoolers by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is here.
Parents are part of the solution, too. Collectively, the child, parents, educators, therapists, and healthcare providers are a team in supporting each child in their quest for long-term health and well-being. Make sure your child gets what is best!
For more information about ADHD, visit www.cdc.gov/adhd.
For information on the American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines on diagnosing, evaluating, and treating ADHD, visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/guidelines.html.
Georgina Peacock, MD, MPH, is Director, Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disability, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Susanna Visser, DrPH, MS, is with the Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disability, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Vaccines
Make sure your children are up-to-date on vaccines before sending them back to school.
School-age children, from preschoolers to college students, need vaccines. Making sure that children receive all their vaccinations on time is one of the most important things you can do as a parent to ensure your children's long-term health-as well as the health of friends, classmates, and others in your community.
CDC has online resources and tools to help parents and doctors make sure all kids are up to date on recommended vaccines and protected from serious diseases. Get your children to the doctor if you discover they need vaccines to protect them against serious diseases.
What All Parents Need To Know
To keep children in schools healthy, Pennsylvania requires children going to school to be vaccinated against certain diseases, such as pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, Diphtheria, polio and chickenpox.
Use CDC's online resources and tools to check the recommended vaccines for your children. http://www.cdc.gov/features/catchupimmunizations/
Disease Outbreaks Still Happen
It's true that some vaccine-preventable diseases have become very rare thanks to vaccines. However, cases and outbreaks still happen. The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2014, with 668 cases from 27 states reported to CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000. From January 1 to June 26, 2015, there have been 178 cases of measles and 5 outbreaks reported in the United States.
From January 1 July 10, 2015, almost 9,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported to CDC by 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Outbreaks of whooping cough at middle and high schools can occur as protection from childhood vaccines fades. Those who are vaccinated against whooping cough but still get the disease are much more likely to have a mild illness compared to those who never received the vaccine.
Making sure your children stay up to date with vaccinations is the best way to protect your communities and schools from outbreaks that can cause unnecessary illnesses and deaths.
Getting every recommended dose of each vaccine provides children with the best protection possible.
Vaccines for Your Young Children (Newborns through 6 years old)
During the early years of life, your children need vaccines to protect them from 14 diseases that can be serious, even life-threatening. Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children increase the risk of disease not only for their own children, but also for other children and adults throughout the entire community. For example, vulnerable newborns too young to have received the maximum protection from the recommended doses of vaccines or people with weakened immune systems, such as some people with cancer and transplant recipients, are also at higher risk of disease.
Flu vaccines are recommended for kids in preschool and elementary school to help keep them healthy. In fact, all children 6 months and older should get flu vaccines. Getting all of your children vaccinated-as well as other family members and caregivers-can help protect infants younger than 6 months old. Ask your family's doctor or nurse about getting flu shots or the nasal spray to protect against flu.
Parents can find out what vaccines their children need and when the doses should be given by reviewing CDC's recommended
Preteens and teens need vaccines, too! As kids get older, they are still at risk for certain diseases. Before heading back to school, three vaccines are recommended for 11-12 year olds-HPV, Tdap, and meningococcal conjugate vaccine-for continued protection.
HPV vaccine is important because it can prevent HPV infections that can cause cancer later in life. For other diseases, like whooping cough, the protection from vaccine doses received in childhood fades over time. That's why 11 12 year-olds are also recommended to get the booster shot called Tdap to help protect them from whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria. Meningococcal conjugate vaccine helps prevent two of the three most common causes of meningococcal disease, which can be very serious-even life-threatening.
It's important to know that flu can be serious, even for healthy, young people. Preteens and teens are no exception. So older kids should get at least one flu vaccine (the shot or nasal spray for healthy kids) every year.
To learn more about vaccines for your preteens and teens, talk to your child's healthcare provider or visit the preteen and teen vaccine pages . CDC provides a recommended immunization schedule for people ages 7 through 18 years for parents and doctors to follow to protect preteens and teens from vaccine-preventable diseases. If your preteens or teens haven't already gotten their vaccines, you should get them caught up as soon as possible.
It's Not Too Late
Getting every recommended dose of each vaccine provides children with the best protection possible. If a child misses a shot, your child's healthcare professional can use the catch-up immunization schedule help get her back on schedule.
Keep in mind that there are many opportunities to catch-up on vaccines for your preteen or teen. Preteens and teens typically see their doctors or other health care professionals for physicals before participation in sports, camping events, travel, and applying to college. Beat the back to school rush and use these opportunities to get your preteen or teen vaccinated today!
Peanut Allergy
HOUSTON - Within hours of the release of the Learning Early About Peanut (LEAP) study results, experts were debating the logistics and magnitude of the changes recommended for the management of infants considered to be at high risk for peanut allergy.
Parents should not simply hear a "consume peanut" message, said James Baker, MD, chief executive officer of Food Allergy Research & Education. "We hope that parents understand this isn't something you do without consulting a physician and making absolutely sure the child is not allergic first," he said during a news conference here at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2015.
The finding that consumption, not avoidance, reduces the risk of developing peanut allergy by the age of 5 led the LEAP investigators to call for new guidelines to be drafted.
"Timing here is key; there's a narrow window of opportunity to intervene early," said LEAP investigator Gideon Lack, MB BCh, from King's College London and Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
All at-risk infants should receive skin-prick testing for peanut, the LEAP team suggests. Those with a negative test should proceed to normal peanut consumption. Those with a positive test should undergo an oral food challenge and, depending on the results, proceed to normal peanut consumption with careful supervision or avoidance.
When asked about the logistics of such an approach, Dr Lack acknowledged it will be a challenge.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/11/501594010/hey-baby-meet-peanuts-how-and-when-to-safely-introduce-the-food
"To actually put this into practice is really going to take a coordinated strategy between all the stakeholders, health professionals, and departments of health in different countries," Dr Lack told Medscape Medical News.
However, he said, the about-face on infant peanut consumption will likely be well received in the medical community.
"One of the things about coming out of medical school is that you realize the learning curve has just started. We have to re-educate ourselves all the time, and that's key. As we acquire more evidence, things change," he explained.
"We believe there's an urgent need for clinicians to be skilled in identifying the at-risk population," said LEAP investigator George Du Toit, MB BCh, from King's College London and Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.