Obese Kids More Likely to Face Bullying
Obese kids are 63 percent more likely to be bullied than their average-weight classmates, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers looked at 821 kids in third, fifth, and sixth grades living across the U.S. and found that parents and teachers were more likely to report bullying than the children being bullied, HealthDay reports. While 25 percent of study kids reported being bullied, teachers said 34 percent had been. Mothers put the number even higher at 45 percent. University of Michigan researcher and study author Julie Lumeng says parents and pediatricians need to be on alert if caring for an overweight child, since bullying may be difficult for kids to bring up, HealthDay reports.
- 6 Ways Parents Can Help Kids Cope With Social Cruelty
- What Parents Can Do to Keep Kids From Snacking Their Way to Obesity
Worried About the Recall? 3 Non-Drug Alternatives to Children's Medications
McNeil Consumer Healthcare's voluntary recall of the company's infant and children's liquid over-the-counter medicines, while worrisome, does not leave parents without options for treating a child's cold or allergy symptoms. The widespread recall, which affects hundreds of thousands of containers of these drugs, is due to manufacturing deficiencies that the Food and Drug Administration says could affect the quality, purity, or potency of the medicines, U.S. News's January Payne reports.
While the FDA is advising that you stop using the children's Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, or Benadryl in your medicine cabinet for now, there are safe, non-drug alternatives, such as nasal suctioning and humidifiers, that can be used to ease a child's symptoms, experts say. (The FDA says it's OK to continue using generic versions of Tylenol or Motrin if your child experiences mild pain or fever.)
The new recall aside, several factors play a role in the potential for harm from OTC cough and cold medications in young children, including the risk of overdose, giving adult medications to kids, and using more than one OTC medication at the same time, which can cause dangerous drug interactions. [Read more: Worried About the Recall? 3 Non-Drug Alternatives to Children's Medications.]
6 Ways for Teenagers to Take Control of Their Health
Teenagers need to learn how to navigate the healthcare system, just as they need to learn how to drive a car and balance a checkbook. That's the message from Trisha Torrey, author of the new book, You Bet Your Life: The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes, U.S. News contributor Nancy Shute reports. Torrey became an expert on navigating the healthcare system after she was misdiagnosed with a terminal form of lymphoma in 2004. It turned out she didn't have cancer at all, but wouldn't have known that had she not Googled her diagnosis and tracked down missing lab reports.
"It used to be we really didn't have to have these healthcare conversations," says Torrey, whose two daughters are in their 20s. "But now we're being asked to give our teenagers vaccinations for HPV, whooping cough, and meningitis. These things didn't exist when my girls were in high school." Many teenagers and parents could use help making the most of doctor visits. Shute offers 6 simple ways that teenagers can take control of their healthcare. [Read more: 6 Ways for Teenagers to Take Control of Their Health.]
- 5 Ways Teens Might Cheat on Drug Tests—and How to Catch Them
- 3 Ways to Help Teenagers Get More, Better Sleep
Popular Health Articles from USNews.com
- 14 Things You Might Not Know About Aspirin
- Everyone Is Talking About Mammograms, but Many Women Don't Get Them
- The Big Risk in Just Living With Erectile Dysfunction
- 5 Risks Linked to Diabetes Medications
- 7 Steps Newly Diagnosed Diabetics Should Take
- 6 Ways to Reduce Inflammation Without Taking a Statin
Need Care? Scan the Rankings: Best Nursing Homes, Best Health Plans and Best Hospitals
Reader Comments Read all comments (27)