"Pollen Vortex!!!" "Shower Before Bed!!" And Other Tales of Allergies in the News....

Although allergies are no joke, this made me chuckle as I opened my inbox this morning. The Pollen Vortex!!! (Gasp!!!) And crunchy ways to take care of yourself during it's brutal quake!! Including a shower!!!!

I wanted to find a picture of the Mucus Queen from Billy Madison, but there wasn't a good one that didn't seem inappropriate in someway. So insert that memory of her wiping snot on her chest . 

Ok all kidding aside, if you need some natural help from allergies (that won't break the bank and won't have you reaching for homemade granola....although there's nothing wrong with that if that's your deal), then for the love of Pete, try Vemma. It's gotten my mom off allergy meds and chronic sinus infections, and it's helped a handful of our friends write farewell letters to their monthly (and sometimes weekly) dates with a needle-wielding allergist. For you - Vemma 1 Pack for a month. For your kid - Vemma NEXT 1 pack for a month. It's under $2 a day, so quit your belly aching and do it. Unless you're one of those people who likes to be miserable. But I hope you aren't. 

(To hear more about what Vemma has done for us and can maybe do for you too, see my page at the top take back your life.)

Now...for your reading pleasure....

“Brutal” Allergy Season Expected.

ABC World News (4/13, story 9, 1:30, Muir) reported, “We’re going to turn now to what is expected to be a brutal allergy season.” Due to the polar vortex and a longer lasting winter in much of the country, “so much is budding out there at once, it’s creating what some are calling the pollen vortex.”

        NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 11, 1:25, Quintanilla) reported that Dr. Mika Roberson, of the Care Point Health Medical Group in Hoboken, NJ, explained that immunotherapy shots taken three to six months before high pollen season may help some people, but people suffering right now are advised to see their physicians and “get skin tested” to ascertain precisely what allergens are bothering them. Over-the-counter nasal sprays and antihistamines can provide some relief.

        The ABC News (4/14, Mohney) website reports, ABC News medical correspondent Jennifer Ashton, MD, “says there are new medications available to those in need including Oralair [grass pollen allergen extract], a new medication made up of freeze-dried grasses that can help combat allergies.” According to experts, “using a neti pot, showering before bed to get rid of pollen particles on the body and keeping windows closed to keep out errant pollen particles are all key.”

        The New York Post (4/12, O'Neill) and the Slate Magazine (4/12, Holthaus) “Future Tense” blog also used the phrase “allergy vortex” in their coverage.

Copied from NAPNAP Publication "PNP Daily News"

"Popular! I'll Help You Be Pop-uuu-lar" In The News

And you thought it was just the nerdy kids that got bullied. Popular kids, watch out!!  

Popularity Tied To Increased Risk Of Getting Bullied.

USA Today (4/1, Healy) reports that according to a study published in the April issue of the American Sociological Review, “as students become more popular and climb the social hierarchy of middle and high school, they are at increased risk for gossip, harassment and even physical attacks from rivals competing for status.” The study of 4,200 eighth, ninth and tenth graders also revealed that “adverse consequences of that bullying – including increased depression, anxiety and anger, and decreased school attachment – are magnified the more popular the victim.”

Copied from NAPNAP publication PNP Daily News

In The News: Many First Time Mother's Experience Breast Feeding Difficulty

From NAPNAP's PNP Daily News email 9/24/13:

Many First-Time Mothers Experience Breastfeeding Difficulty.

In continuing coverage, Reuters (9/24, Pittman) reports that breast-feeding can prove difficult for new mothers. In an analysispublished online Sept. 23 in Pediatrics, after interviewing first-time mothers, researchers discovered that 92% reported that they experienced difficulty with breastfeeding starting the third day of the infant’s life. Problems included difficulty feeding, concerns regarding milk supply and pain. Reuters adds that exclusive breastfeeding is recommended by the World Health Organization until the child reaches six months. After six months, breast-feeding is to be continued “with the addition of appropriate foods through age two.”

        CBS News (9/24, Jaslow) reports on its website that researchers have reached out to hospitals to “develop strategies to reach concerned moms early on into the postpartum period.” Dr. Laurie Nommsen-Rivers, the study’s lead investigator, stated that a two-prong approach is necessary to assist mothers with breastfeeding: First, “strengthening protective factors,” like peer support andbreastfeeding education, and second, providing professional lactation support to address their concerns.

        Breastfeeding Concern Raises Questions Regarding Bed-Sharing. The Los Angeles Times (9/24, Brown) reports that another study published online Sept. 23 in JAMA Pediatrics explored the relationship between sharing a bed with an infant and breast-feeding, which determined that breast-feeding lasted longer for infants who “slept on the same ‘sleeping surfaces’ as their mothers.” Ninety percent of new mothers reported in this survey that they, too, experienced issues with breast-feeding shortly after childbirth, and while bed-sharing may alleviate those problems, the authors of the study warned mothers of the safety risks associated with infant-parent bed-sharing.

        Reuters (9/24, Pittman) reports that although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants remain close to their parents while sleeping, sleeping in the same bed may increase the infants’ risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

        The story is also covered by the NPR (9/23, Shute) “Shots” blog, the Time (9/23, Sifferlin) “Healthland” blog, HealthDay (9/24, Salamon), and MedPage Today (9/24, Walsh).

From PNP Daily News email 9/23/14:

Nursing Difficulties Could Lead New Mothers To Stop Trying.

MedPage Today (9/23, Raeburn) reports on a prospective study published online in the journal Pediatrics, which found that “new mothers who had problems breastfeeding, especially during the first 2 months postpartum, were at risk of giving up nursing and using formula.” According to researchers, “the peak adjusted relative risk (ARR) for stopping breastfeeding at day 3 was 9.2 (95% CI 3.0-infinity) among women who expressed concerns.” The data indicated that “breastfeeding concerns that yielded the largest adjusted population attributable risk (PAR) for stopping were ‘infant feeding difficulty’ at day 7 (PAR 32%) and ‘milk quantity’ (PAR 23%) at day 14.”

Hot off the Press: US Abortion Rate Declines

Abortion Rate At Lowest Level In More Than Three Decades.

Major newspapers, wire sources and other media outlets report that the US abortion rate has reached its lowest level since 1973, according to a study called “Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2011,” which was issued by the Guttmacher Institute, a supporter of legal access to abortion.
        The New York Times (2/3, A10, Eckholm, Subscription Publication) reports that in the US, “the abortion rate...declined to its lowest level in more than three decades in 2011, according to a new report released Monday.” The report also found that “the decline in abortions from 2008 to 2011 was mirrored by a decline in pregnancy rates.”
        According to the Washington Post (2/3, Somashekhar), the report found “there were fewer than 17 abortions for every 1,000 women in 2011, the latest year for which figures were available.” This represents a decline of “13 percent from 2008 and a little higher than the rate in 1973, when the Supreme Court handed down its landmark Roe v. Wade decision.”
        USA Today (2/3, Jayson) reports that declines “were seen in all but six states.” Study author Rachel Jones “attributes the decline to more women using ‘highly effective contraceptive methods such as the IUD’ and the fact that the study period was during the recession and sluggish recovery.”
        The Wall Street Journal (2/3, A4, Radnofsky, Subscription Publication) notes that from 2008 through 2010, US states enacted 44 laws that restricted how abortion is regulated. In 2011, another 62 laws were passed, but many of these were not immediately put into effect following their passage.
        The Los Angeles Times (2/3, Hamedy) reports other findings from the report, such as the fact that “more abortions came earlier in the pregnancy and medication abortions constituted a larger share of the total.” The report, called “Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2011,” noted, “An estimated 239,400 early medication abortions were performed in 2011, representing 23% of all nonhospital abortions, an increase from 17% in 2008.” The report will appear in the March issue of the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
        The AP (2/3, Crary) notes that the highest rates of abortions were found in “in New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware and New Jersey; the lowest were in Wyoming, Mississippi, South Dakota, Kentucky and Missouri.” But, according to the report, “many women in Wyoming and Mississippi, where providers are scarce, go out of state to get abortions.”
        Also covering the story are Reuters (2/3, Moon), theHuffington Post (2/2, Bassett), the NPR (2/3, Rovner) “Shots” blog, and CQ (2/3, Adams, Subscription Publication).


Post copied from NAPNAP's daily email PNP In The News

Hot off the Press

I get a daily email from NAPNAP, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners called PNP in the News. This is a highlight of my morning. Yes, really. Call me a nerd. I don't care. Here's a good excerpt:

In an 1,100-word article, the Wall Street Journal (1/7, D1, Loftus, Subscription Publication) reports that scientists are increasingly looking for new diseases that could be treated with umbilical cord blood. For instance, researchers are attempting to determine whether blood or tissues from the cord can benefit patients with Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, congenital heart disease, or cerebral palsy. Some patients with certain cancers or blood disorders are already treated with transplants using blood from the cords.

I personally chose to save cord blood from both of my kids. And I plan to do it again with the next one. (Hurl. Sorry, just the thought of that brought on "morning" sickness....and yes it's late in the afternoon. That's how I roll.) You can save cord blood too at Cord Blood Registry. They offer discounts and a gift registry. I hope this was this biggest waste of money in our lives. But if we need it, praise God we have it.