It all began with Gatorade – then all sorts of power drinks followed the hype. Today, there are several power drinks which are marketed in different ways. A lot are sports drinks. Some are sports beverages. Others are vitamin waters. They claim to have special body-friendly ingredients which help boost energy levels, increase alertness and concentration, improve nutrition and boost athletic stamina and performance. There’s just one question: How safe are they for kids?

Why these drinks work like they do

Energy drinks, aka power drinks, work their magic because their ingredients. The most popular content is caffeine. It’s the same stuff we as adults crave for to jumpstart our mornings. Doctors suggest that even the healthiest adults watch their caffeine intake because of its side effects – imagine what it can do to kids!      

Aside from caffeine, energy drinks also contain a form of ephedrine called ma huang, which keeps the mind and body active. They also contain taurine, a substance that works like an amino acid. Taurine has been linked to the development of several diseases. 

Lastly, there’s sugar. Feed a kid a spoonful of sugar a few hours before bedtime, and watch him or her jump up and down for hours, refusing to settle down.

Kids and caffeine intake

Children who take in coffee present with difficulty sleeping at night and disrupted rest patterns. While they may be able to doze off to sleep, they may wake at the slightest stimulation, or may not be able to sleep soundly. Children who drink caffeinated drinks also have symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and restlessness.

Brains of children are still at their developmental stages, so they are extremely vulnerable to the crippling effect of these drinks. Their juvenile kidneys and liver work extra hard to get the caffeine out of their systems, but these substances remain in the blood stream for up to 12 hours. So, if a child gulp down his energy drink at noon, his brain would be up and about way until past midnight.

Supplemental drinks are deceiving.

These drinks claim to give children a boost of energy needed for school and sports.  What they don’t tell you is that these supplemental drinks make your child’s brain dependent on these drinks instead of its own energy – producing chemicals. It is the same phenomenon that happens when adults become reliant upon coffee in the morning and throughout the day.

This can be dangerous. When the brain doesn’t produce its own energy-producing chemicals, the child can experience a sudden decline in energy as soon as the effect of the drinks subsides.

Getting off the drinks is similar to when adults get off their coffee addiction. Caffeine withdrawal is known to make people more irritable and restless, and prevent thought clarity.

 Common conditions that impair physical mobility include Arthritis (Rheumatoid Arthritis or Osteoarthritis), Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Muscle Dystrophy (MD), Parkinson’s disease, Paralysis and Stroke. For any child who has one of the following conditions life would considerably become less normal. The parents and care takers will also have a hard time carrying out the task of being the primary care provider to these children. Since the past few decades, the management and treatment for conditions that impair physical mobility have been constantly evolving and improving. Several Prescription Medications, such as Cladribine a drug for patients with Multiple Sclerosis, are given to control and treat the disease which causes the disability. Various forms of therapy like play, music and art, is also found to be a very effective mode of intervention. Methods for rehabilitation and independence, such as crutches, wheel chairs, motorized scooters and even robotics, are widely used and continuously developed to address every disabled person’s needs and concerns.

The advancement of technology brought in great minds and inventors who developed a way of using robotics as an option for physically disabled children. They came up with an alternative, which is the robotic wheelchair. This high tech device is similar to a wheelchair but it comes with built in sensors and microchips. The thing that makes this device different from an ordinary wheelchair is the way it functions and the high level of independence it gives the disabled child. The robotic wheelchair can move automatically or manually, it comes with built-in sensors that detect any person or thing it comes in contact with, making it easier for the chair to follow the companion (parent or care taker) without having them stay at the back and push the equipment from behind. This sensor also avoids certain hazards like slippery floors, slopes and rocky debris ensuring safety. Currently a new navigation feature is being developed which allows to machine to find and go to specific locations using voice commands.

 The use of robotic wheelchairs in physically disabled children has made their lives as close to normal as possible. With the help of this machine difficult tasks are made easier.  This technology has been tremendously affecting the disabled community in a positive way and hopefully it will continue doing this in the future years to come.

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a condition that affects children’s ability to learn to read and spell. Interchanging letters and numbers that could cause troubles in writing and spelling is common in children with dyslexia, but it is not the only sign that a child has the condition.  

Under normal circumstances, this is how reading is learned: A child begins to recognize letter and speech sounds first. Then, she or she begins to recognize printed symbols, aka letters and numbers. The child then learns how to match sounds to letters and eventually string them together into words. Then, the child needs to practice eye control when reading from a page full of letters and words. Familiarity with same words happens when these are stored in the memory.

Aside from letter recognition difficulty, some kids with dyslexia may present with a difficulty in recognizing left or right. This can cause problems with writing or even marching. Some children with dyslexia may also find it challenging to recognize numbers and even colors. Because of this, they may have trouble writing down their home phone numbers or addresses. Spelling and grammar issues are also a common find in these children.

What causes dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disorder, which doesn’t necessarily say much about a person’s intelligence since it is confined to the recognition of letters and not his or her overall cognitive ability. It is believed that it has something to do with the clusters of dyslexic cells in the brain. These cells, necessary for recognizing moving images, are smaller and slower in dyslexics, causing them to interpret letters and words slower than other children. 

How is it diagnosed?

Just because your child has difficulty learning her abc’s doesn’t mean she has dyslexia. Thus, it is diagnosed with a series of exams facilitated by a psychologist. A parent or a teacher must be present to help with the diagnosis.  

How does dyslexia affect children?

For one, it can cause in delay in the learning process, especially when a child begins schooling. A teacher may recognize the child for exceptional talent in other fields, but may notice that the child can never understand reading like the other children. Once a diagnosis has been established, the child must be educated by a special education specialist who is equipped with knowledge on techniques to help the child read and spell.

In children, toddlers and pre-schoolers under the age of 4 are the most common victims of burns and scalding injuries. This injury can cause physical deformity, irreversible physiologic damage, emotional distress and even death, if left untreated.  How then can we keep our kids safe from burns? It is important to note, that burns is one the most preventable forms of injury. Common sources would include household appliances, electricity, sun exposure, lightning, hazardous chemicals and hot liquids. Keeping our kids away from the source is the best intervention to prevent burns. If in case contact with such things cannot be avoided, preventive measures should be done. Inside the house, parents must make sure that every appliance and area is child-proof. For people with a hot water heater, the temperature should be maintained to not more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent scalding, if in case it comes in contact with the child.  Inside the kitchen, hot coffee pots and hot counter tops should be placed in areas, which is difficult for children to reach.  Chemicals and hot liquids should be kept safely in storage containers that are not accessible to children. Electrical outlets must be covered and cords must be out of reach to prevent electrical burns. When going outside, under the heat of the sun, the child must wear sunscreen with at least SPF 15 as well as any form of protective garments such as caps and sun glasses that will limit his exposure to the sun. If living in a lightning prone area, always stay indoors, when outside avoid contact with metal objects and bodies of water,  immediately seek a safe shelter like a thick dense of trees.  Parents can also install fire alarms and smoke detectors for additional safety, these alarms should be checked regularly to ensure their working condition. Flammable objects like matches, gas lamps, fire cracker and lighters should be kept in safe storage areas. Teaching kids about fire safety is also very essential; children need to know how to escape the house if in case it burns down, they should also know that playing with fire is very dangerous.

Ensuring the child’s safety and security is every parent’s first priority. With these preventive measures, parents will be able to protect their children from any burns or scalding injury.

What differentiates a headache from migraines?

Children may have one work to express the discomfort they are feeling – headache. However, parents must be taught how to recognize when it is a normal headache caused by, say, eating too much sugar, and when it’s a migraine headache that needs medical attention.

Unlike normal headaches, migraines come with an aura. This can be described as “seeing stars” or “glaring lights” just before the onset of a migraine headache. Auras could also be a sudden change in taste, smell, hearing and sensation. The pain of a migraine may occur around the eyes, on the forehead, or in the temples, rather than the head itself. Also, migraines are so severe, that it is usually accompanied by nausea and vomiting, and abdominal pain. They are aggravated by motion, bright lights, and noises. Finally, migraines are relieved by sleep.

Headaches that cause children to awaken, or become apparent in the morning, are not migraines, but rather headaches which could be indicative of a brain tumor, or other underlying conditions.

 How do I know my child has migraines?

A child may have chronic migraines is he or she experiences more than five severe headaches accompanied by three or more of these other symptoms: nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, throbbing and localized headache, and the presence of an aura.

 What causes childhood migraines?

There are no definite and proven causes of migraines, either in adults or in children. However, it is believed to be genetic. Children with migraines may have inherited blood vessel hyper-sensitivity to certain chemical signals that cause vessel constriction and dilation. The sudden pressure changes in the vessels are believed to cause the pain. A family history of migraines makes a child more susceptible to developing them.

 How is childhood migraine diagnosed?  

Doctors assess the pediatric patient to determine whether it is simply a severe headache or a true migraine headache. It is important to assess the patient is crucial because migraines may be related to serious underlying conditions.

Doctors work into finding the specific triggers of the childhood migraines so that they can prescribe the best treatment. These triggers can vary from child to child. 

 What relief measures can parents offer children who have migraines?

The best way to control migraines is to actually prevent the child from exposure to triggers. The trick is to recognize your child’s triggers. Triggers may include smoke, pollution, strong perfume, certain foods, especially those with high nitrate and MSG content. Caffeine and salt should also be avoided to avoid hyper-stimulation of the nerves in the brain. Extreme temperatures, motion sickness, sleep deprivation and missed meals can also trigger migraines.

If your child is already experiencing a migraine attack, put him or her to rest comfortably, with dim to no lights, and keep the room as noise and movement-free as possible. Your child must go to sleep for relief.

Over-the-counter pain medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen may not be effective in adults, but are effective in children with migraines. Consult your doctor on the recommended dose based on your child’s weight and height, as well as his or her age.

 What is Tylenol anyway? And why do teens use them? Tylenol is a drug, generically known as acetaminophen, invented during the 1950’s by Dr. James Roth, an American gastroenterologist.  Tylenol was primarily created as a safe substitute for Aspirin since this drug has fewer side effects compared to the latter that causes bleeding tendencies and increases the risk of acquiring Reye’s syndrome a fatal condition that affects the body’s major organs most especially the brain and liver. This drug is used to relieve pain, minimize fever, and relieve discomforts and symptoms of colds, cough and allergies.  Tylenol is an over the counter drug, it is widely available anywhere, and a doctor’s prescription isn’t required to purchase this. Popular brand names include Motrin, Zyrtec, Bendryl and Tylenol plus, manufacturers create several preparations for this drug like tablets, soft gel capsules, and liquid suspensions depending on the its indication. In some cases Tylenol is combined with codeine and other narcotics to make it a more potent analgesic and pain reliever.

 Tylenol has potential risks and side effects. Excessive intake causes paracetamol toxicity which damages the liver leading to acute or chronic liver failure. An overdose of this drug can also cause poisoning, which is very fatal.  In the United States; Tylenol is responsible for 39% of all drug-related acute liver failure cases. Almost half of all the other drugs combined. The danger of excessive intake of this drug not only affects adults but also pregnant women, children and teens. As mentioned the intake of this drug place children and teens at a higher risk of developing asthma. Although not yet proven, significant findings show that since the invention of this drug more than 50 years ago, the incidence of asthma has been slowly increasing. Should it be a coincidence or not, this information needs to be closely looked at and researched further. 

 Like in any other drug, Tylenol should be taken with precaution most especially in children and teens. When taking Tylenol, be a responsible drug user, read the drug literature, look for more information and other resources; and if the situation calls for it, seek your doctor’s advice.  It can not be stressed enough how important it is for people to be extra careful when taking this drug, it’s strongly advised for patients to take the drug as directed. It is always better to be safe now rather than to be sorry in the future, when nothing can be done.

Contrary to popular belief, children with autism, too, can be potty-trained, using effective techniques. Some experts say that some autistic children can toilet-train as early as their second year of life even before the signs mentioned above become apparent, while others need more time and patience.

The problem with toilet training children with autism is that there is too much advice going on here and there. Some specialists recommend “waiting until the toddler is ready”, even when the toddler reaches school age.  Others suggest that autistic children must be potty-trained as early as their 18^th month of life. However, one universal truth is this: Parents and guardians must be aware that children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), have characteristics that may interfere with standard toilet training techniques.

This article has helpful hints for parents who wish to potty train their autistic child. Each technique is based on common issues that children with ASD or PDD-NOS have, because its these very issues that make toilet training even more challenging for them and their parents.

Problems with communication: A child with ASD or PDD-NOS may have difficulty in speech and comprehension. He or she may have a hard time associating language with things, persons and places. They may not have sufficient language skills to express the need to go to the bathroom, or may not be able to talk about an urge.  Expressive language is important with children who has ASD, thus it is crucial for parents to allow their children to find their own way of expression.

Impaired social interaction: Children with ASD may either be too distant, or too intimate, and may fail to be just between these extremes. Parents may tell their autistic child that he or she is now a big girl, or a big boy, and must go to the bathroom by him or herself, but this makes very little sense to the child and may resist your gentle prodding.

Tendency towards repetitive actions: Children with ASD are considered be prone to repetitive actions and like routines to fill their schedules. Introduction to potty-training may only distress them, because it breaks their routine. This will require insistence on your end. You will need to meet your child’s resistance with preparation, and must continue to incorporate toilet training into their routine.

Parents must choose only one technique and stick to it, since experimenting with various techniques will only create setbacks and disruptions in the child’s routine, delaying toilet training even more. It must be a relaxed environment, and parents must never force the child. Finally, parents can assess readiness by reading the signs carefully and accurately. The child must be able to imitate actions, respond positively to praises and rewards, and has the desire to remain dry and clean.

Emergencies can be classified as life-threatening and non- life-threatening.  A life-threatening emergency is the type when the victim needs resuscitation. Conditions under this category include breathing problems, active bleeding, on-going seizure, severe choking, and permanent loss of consciousness (coma). In dealing with life-threatening emergencies, the most important intervention that needs to be done first is to contact the rescue squad or ambulance. The rescue team is composed of professionals and paramedics trained in basic life support and cardio pulmonary resuscitation.  They will be able to stabilize the patient’s condition before reaching the nearest medical facility. While waiting for the paramedics to arrive in the scene, the parents and care takers can also do certain first aid measures to rescue the victim. For children who have breathing difficulties, the rescuer can check the airway and ensure that nothing’s blocking the air passage. If there’s an obstruction in the mouth such as choking, they can use their fingers to sweep it out or even gently pat the back to dislodge the item. If the person is trained and if needed, CPR can be performed. In the event of external active bleeding, applying direct pressure to the site will help stop the bleeding. Elevating the site also prevents further blood loss. When the child has an on-going seizure, head-injury should be prevented, to do this, let the child lie flat on the ground free from any hazardous and constricting objects.

Non-life -threatening emergencies are those that need immediate medical attention but don’t require resuscitation. Children in this type of emergency are stable and the threat to their lives is less severe. Conditions that can be classified under this category are poisoning, burns, pain, inactive bleeding and temporary loss of consciousness. The first thing parents and care takers need to do is to bring their children to the nearest medical facility or to their pediatrician. These people can diagnose the condition properly and instruct the appropriate medical intervention. First aid for poisoning depends on the substance induced; milk or activated charcoal can be given to remove the toxins from the child’s body. For burns depending on the degree, it can be treated with burns ointments or burn wraps. For pain and inactive bleeding, assessment is key, the care taker should note the location, characteristic, onset, and duration of pain.

As what scouts always say, BE PREPARED, emergency situations should always be associated with those words. Being prepared and acting on time is essential in resolving such crisis.

Although children have previously been given nicotine patches as part of trials, this is the first time it has been made part of official English policy.

The anti-smoking pressure group, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), were pleased with the implementation of the new policy as they felt that giving up smoking was ‘one of the most cost-effective forms of health intervention’.

(source)

The chemical in question is called ‘bisphenol A’, known to be used by some companies in the lining of baby formula cans and bottles they produce.

Although bisphenol A has long been used in food packaging, consumer activists last year voiced concerns that trace amounts of the chemical that leak into the formula could pose a danger to babies.

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) is in the process of reviewing how safe bisphenol A is, but have however said that they see no reason why the chemical should be banned or restricted in the meantime.

(source)