Posts tagged as:

Injury Prevention

Pediatrics studies SIDS risk in African American families

by Lois Lee, MD, MPH on September 7, 2011

Lois Lee, MD, MPH

The excitement of decorating a baby’s room is a wonderful rite of passage for every parent. It’s also a big business for manufacturers. If you look in any baby related catalog, the choices for furniture, bedding and toys seems unlimited. But even though having so many options for matching sheets, blankets, crib bumpers and stuffed animals for your baby’s crib may seem appealing, these items put infants at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)* as well as suffocation, strangulation and entrapment.

It is well known that there are significant disparities in some medical conditions between different races and ethnicities, and SIDS risks are no exception. In infants born to black mothers, the rate of SIDS is more than twice that of white, non-Hispanic infants. In addition, black infants have much higher rates of death due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, often caused by unsafe bedding items.

To better understand the reasons why the use of soft bedding is more prominent in black families, researchers from Children’s National Medical Center in Washington D.C. recently conducted a study of infant bedding practices in black mothers. It’s hoped that by compiling this type of data, the medical community can better identify and educate at-risk families, resulting in safer infant sleep surfaces in the United States. Full story »

Leave a comment

Concussions hit local head(lines)

by Tripp Underwood on August 24, 2011

Would you let your child ride on an old, dilapidated carnival ride with a busted safety bar? How about buckle them into a second-generation car seat with fraying, nylon straps?

When the examples are this extreme, the answers are obvious. But what about those situations where safety equipment’s reliability is less clear-cut? For instance, did you know that the age of your child’s helmet may drastically effect its ability to protect the wearer?

Addressing these concerns (and others), the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association recently issued new sports safety guidelines for the 2011-2012 season. Noticeable changes include stricter standards regarding the age and safety of players’ helmets, players that suffer a hit to the head will need medical clearance before returning to play and improved training for coaches, trainers and other adults involved in youth athletics.

William Meehan, MD, director of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Sports Concussion Clinic says the guidelines represent an increased public awareness about the dangers of concussions and will hopefully go a long way in making local youth sports safer for everyone involved. “The new guidelines are definitely a step in the right direction,” he says. “It’s a huge development for the state of Massachusetts.”

To discuss these changes Meehan was recently interviewed for Fox News.

Preventing concussions in High School sports: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Meehan says helmets, like any other piece of equipment, suffer wear and tear over time, which eventually affects performance. “The inside layer of foam in many of these helmets compresses with every impact,” he says. “Over time the springiness and density of that foam changes. It’s get worn down and eventually doesn’t diminish the force of the hit like a newer helmet would.”

For more information on the subject, please join Dr. Meehan, Marc R. Proctor, MD, director of our Brain Injury Center, and a multidisciplinary team from Children’s, as they discuss concussions in pediatric patients during a live, interactive Webcast. Catch “Tackling Concussions Head On” September 12th at 6 PM ET. To sign-up for the presentation and receive a reminder email, please click here.

Leave a comment

100 years of allergy treatment

by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on August 15, 2011

Immunology celebrates its 100th birthday this month

Written by Joshua Feblowitz

One hundred years ago, a British scientist by the name of Leonard Noon attempted to treat hay fever by injecting patients with of small amounts of grass pollen. Inspired by successful vaccines for diseases like smallpox, Noon hoped to cure patients of their allergy by helping them build up an “active immunity” to the pollen.

In his laboratory at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, Noon carefully prepared “pollen extracts” to test his theory. To study patients’ reactions to pollen, he sprinkled the extract directly into their eyes – undoubtedly a very unpleasant experience, as anyone with seasonal allergies can imagine. Finally, he injected patients with the extract over several weeks in increasing amounts, successfully reducing their sensitivity to the pollen.

Noon’s 1911 study represents the first successful example of allergen immunotherapy, a treatment that involves gradually exposing an allergic person to an allergen to coax their immune system into tolerating the substance. Although Noon never uses the word “allergy” in his original paper – at the time the term was just 4 years old—his discovery marked the beginning of a new era for allergy research and treatment. Today, allergen immunotherapy continues to be employed by innovative researchers around the world, including right here at Children’s Hospital Boston. Full story »

Leave a comment

Children’s celebrates Hubway launch

by Tripp Underwood on July 29, 2011

Children's staff were on hand for the Hubway launch in downtown Boston

In an effort to promote physical activity and reduce traffic in and around its campus, Children’s Hospital Boston is a proud co-sponsor of a new city-wide bike sharing program that kicked off Thursday at Boston’s City Hall. Dubbed the “New Balance Hubway,” the program provides 600 rental bicycles, which can be picked up and dropped off at any of the 61 solar-powered stations set up throughout the city.

People can register with the Hubway program online for discounted rates, or simply go to any Hubway station and borrow a bike. Once you’re done with your ride, you return the bike to the nearest Hubway station and your credit card or rider’s account will be automatically charged for the amount of time used. It’s like Zipcar, but with pedals.

Hubway program will start with 600 bikes and 61 rental stations, with more to follow

Modeled after proven successful bike share programs in cities like Paris, Montreal, Washington D.C. and Minneapolis, Children’s is hopeful that hospital employees, parents or visitors may pick up a bicycle near the hospital at one of the six local Hubway station and ride to an offsite meeting, run an errand downtown, or get some exercise on the Esplanade. Of course cyclists should always wear a helmet, and should you find yourself in the area but without the proper protection Children’s lobby Safety Store is now selling adult bike helmets for $10.

While on the topics of bikes, here are a few quick bike safety points for parents of young riders:

Full story »

Leave a comment

Our patients’ stories: A protective bubble of my own

by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on July 21, 2011

Sandy Ho

I’ve always known my parents would forever see me as their baby. And being their little girl, I knew that it would be hard for them to watch me leave for college to live in a dorm, all by myself. I appreciate their concerns and love, but it didn’t change the fact that after high school I was ready to be on my own. As a kid with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (O.I.), a brittle bones condition, I could not wait to get out from their protective bubble, which I had lived inside of for 18 years. Full story »

Leave a comment

Stricter rules for ATV safety

by Tripp Underwood on April 8, 2010

Lois Lee, MD, MPH

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 16 not operate All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), many children still ride them—and some are killed or seriously hurt. Lois Lee, MD, MPH, who specializes in pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston, spoke out yesterday in support of a Massachusetts bill that would raise the legal age requirement to drive an ATV. Current laws mandate that a child as young as 10 can ride an ATV with adult supervision, but the new bill would increase the minimum ATV driving age to 14.

Click here to see Lee discussing ATV safety for kids on Channel 5 News.

Lee’s support of stricter age restrictions on ATV operational laws isn’t new. Click here to read a 2009 Thrive post, where Lee and David Mooney, MD, MPH, talked about the dangers of younger children driving ATVs. Full story »

Leave a comment

Don’t run with food in your mouth! And other choking prevention tips

by Lois Lee, MD, MPH on February 24, 2010

Lois Lee, MD, MPH works in Children’s Emergency Department Injury Prevention Program

Hot dogs, popcorn, gum, candy, marshmallows—These may seem like fun delicious foods to most people, but to young children under the age of 3 they are potential choking hazards that can even lead to death. These foods are about the size of a young child’s airway and can cause a blockage which can be fatal if the child can’t breathe. Full story »

Leave a comment

Girls' soccer ACL injuries are preventable

by Kristin Cantu on February 18, 2010

girls soccer game More girls are playing soccer than ever and as you can guess, that means more girls are suffering from soccer-related injuries. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine takes a look at a Swedish research exercise program designed to help girls prevent one of soccer’s most common injuries – a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

The study’s participants (all female soccer players) showed that over the course of one season, those who participated in the exercise program suffered fewer injuries and those that did sustain injuries were ones that were less severe. Full story »

Leave a comment