News Moms Need

Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is on the rise, even among people who have been vaccinated. In the past year, cases in California have increased seven-fold, with 2,774 confirmed cases. Outbreaks have also occurred in New York, South Carolina and Michigan.

No one really knows why the disease is increasing, but we do know that the vaccine is not 100% effecive. If whooping cough is circulating in a community, it’s possible for a vaccinated person to get the disease.

The effectieness of the vaccine fades over time. So adolescents and adults may need to be revaccinated; check with your health care provider.

Because some of the symptoms of whooping cough are similar to a cold, it may take a while for a person to realize it’s more than a cold. But after 1-2 weeks, severe coughing begins.   

Infants and children who have the disease cough often and violently; they inhale with a loud “whooping sound.” Whooping cough is most severe in babies.

To learn more, go to the Sounds of Pertussis Web site. The U.S  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has helpful information.

Back in May, we reported that several children’s medications had been recalled. McNeil Consumer Healthcare has expanded that recall to include several other products under the brand names Tylenol, Benadryl and Motrin. For a list of recent products recalled, click here.

A reminder: Do not give over-the-counter cough and cold products to infants and children younger than 4 years of age. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, these medications can have serious and life-threatening side effects.  

Four types of Pediacare cough and cold medicines for children have been recalled. The recall is a precaution. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently found problems at the plant where the medicines were made.

Products recalled include PediaCare Multi-Symptom Cold, PediaCare Long-Acting Cough, PediaCare Decongestent, and PediaCare Allergy and Cold medicines. If you have any of these products in your home, stop using them.

A reminder: Do not give over-the-counter cough and cold products to infants and children younger than 4 years of age. According to the FDA, these products can have serious and life-threatening side effects. For more information about colds and young children, read the March of Dimes article.

It’s quick and easy. Reach in the kitchen drawer and pull out a teaspoon or tablespoon. Then pour the medicine in. I’ve done it; have you?

But according to new research from Cornell University, there could be a problem.  It’s easy to make a mistake and pour out either too much or too little medicine.

In the study, researchers first gave 195 people a teaspoon and asked them to pour a teasoon full of liquid cold medicine into the spoon. So they knew how much 1 teaspoon looked like. The researchers then asked the people in the study to pour 1 teaspoon of medicine into a medium-sized spoon and an even larger spoon.

With the medium-sized spoon, people tended to pour too little. With the larger spoon, too much. Looks can deceive.

What’s the bottom line? Be sure to use the correct-sized spoon or container when pouring liquid medicine for yourself and your family. Don’t guestimate.

Procter & Gamble has recalled about 700,000 packages of Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu Liquicaps (24 count) because the packaging is not child-resistant. The capsules contain acetaminophen and could cause serious health problems, including death, in children.

The capsules were sold at drug stores, grocery stores and other retailers between September 2008 and December 2009.

To read more, see the news release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

It’s only natural to be concerned when your child’s temperature goes up. But not all fevers are a cause for worry. In fact, many fevers don’t need treatment. By activating your child’s immune system, a fever can actually shorten your child’s illness. Normal temperature is not a specific number. Instead normal temperature usually ranges from 97° to 100.4° Fahrenheit. Body temperature also varies according to time of day, age, and physical activity. Pediatricians do not consider a fever significant unless it rises above 100.4°. Treatment is rarely required for a child older than three months who has a mild fever but no other symptoms. But if other symptoms appear along with the fever, you should call your pediatrician. For children younger than three months even a mild fever means you should call your pediatrician right away. To learn more about caring for your baby, visit our website or the American Academy of Pediatrics.

My back was bothering me  again. I sat at the kitchen table trying to  finish  a bowl of cereal, but I was too uncomfortable. I was 36 weeks pregnant and I had a horrible cold. I called in sick to work and shuffled back to bed.  I tried to fall asleep, but the pressure in my lower back wouldn’t give. I flopped from side to side. I paced around my bedroom. I rocked on my hands and knees, but my back continued to throb. I couldn’t sit still for more than a second. I called for my husband who happened to be  home  recuperating  from a substantial orthopedic surgery that he had two weeks earlier. He messaged my back while balancing on his crutches, but it did no good.

 “Don’t leave me”, I said. I was nervous and had to keep moving. He hobbled behind  me from room to room. Maybe I pinched a nerve or pulled a muscle? Let’s just call the midwife and  tell her what’s going on. She said it could just be end-of –pregnancy discomfort. Call her back if anything changes.  I wasn’t having any other symptoms. Until…very suddenly I did.

I ran to the bathroom and  threw up. The pressure in my back ramped up and radiated down into my bottom. I was moaning and walking  around on my tippy toes with my back arched. It was intense. Could this be it?  Was this labor? It came on so suddenly that we weren’t sure. I wasn’t having contractions . Everything we read said that labor progresses slowly and can take hours and hours for first time moms.  Could this be some other medical issue? My husband said, “that’s it we’re going to the hospital.” I was crying.

Somehow he managed to get me into the backset of the car although I was unable to sit. I was on my knees holding onto the head rest. We reached the stop sign at the end of our block and I jumped out of the car. I couldn’t tolerate the car. I just couldn’t do it. My husband was yelling at me, “what are you doing? Get back in the car!!” I somehow managed to crawl back in and he drove like a maniac in reverse back to our house. He whipped  into the driveway and called 911. ..To Be Continued.

Check back next Friday for Part 2 of, The day Hannah arrived. Have a great weekend and Happy Birthday Peter!

It’s hard to watch a small child suffer from a bad cold: fever, red eyes, loss of sleep, crankiness. And the stuffed and chapped nose so irritated that even a soft tissue hurts.

All you have to do is look and you know “My poor baby feels miserable.”

A parent’s impulse is to DO SOMETHING. But giving a child under the age of 4 an over-the-counter cold medicine is not the right thing.

Recent research published in the journal Pediatrics highlights the risk of cough, cold and allergy medications for young children. Pseudoephedrine (also known as Sudafed) is commonly found in these medications. But we don’t know how much of it is safe for small children. So the best thing to do is avoid it.

Do not give over-the-counter cough, cold and allergy products to infants and children younger than 4 years of age. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, these medications can have serious and life-threatening side effects. For instance, pseudoephedrine can cause agitation, severe shaking, vomiting and a rapid heart rate. Too much pseudoephedrine can even lead to death.

For more information, read Colds on the March of Dimes Web site. The article tells you what to watch for when your child has a cold and when to call a doctor or nurse.

What do you do when your child has a bad cold?