Health News
- Study Says Overweight Kids Become Overweight Teens
If a child is overweight in kindergarten, she probably will be in eighth grade, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And if your baby was heavy at birth, it has a greater chance of being fat. It found overweight kindergartners...
- Tips To Keep Children Safe From The Dangers Of Summer Heat
While enjoying time with family on the boat, at church picnics, in the backyard or at the beach, be sure to keep kids safe during the summer heat. Heat can trigger three major illnesses, says Dr. Eric Kirkendall of Cincinnati Children's...
- West Nile Outbreak Light In Ky. But 'one Of The Largest' In Nation
U.S. health officials reported Wednesday three times the usual number of West Nile cases for this time of year and one expert told the Associated Press it was ?one of the largest? outbreaks since the virus appeared in this country in 1999. So far, 1,118...
- Don't Leave Children In Hot Vehicles This Weekend, Officials Warn
With extreme heat blazing over the state this weekend, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services urges the public to avoid leaving children in vehicles. "Extreme temperatures are cause for concern, so we advise the public to take necessary steps...
- Never Leave Kids In A Hot Car, Officials Say In Press Conference Planned Even Before Louisville Toddler Died
Following a 2-year-old Louisville boy's death from hyperthermia after he was left alone in a hot car Saturday, health officials warned of the dangers of vehicle-related heat stroke at a news conference in Frankfort yesterday. "The loss of a child...
Health News
Summer and water recreation offer fun and risk at the same time; prevention is the key to decrease the risk
One of the best parts of summer is splashing in a pool, playing in the back yard sprinkler or swimming in a lake or stream, but recreational water activity always comes with a risk of drowning.
It's important not to lose sight of this risk as you strive to keep your children and adolescents safe, writes Susan Pollack, director of the Pediatric and Adolescent Injury Prevention Program at the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Kentucky.
"Every year in Kentucky, an average of 14 children die by drowning. About half the drowning deaths occur among children ages 1 to 4," Pollack writes in the Lexington Herald-Leader. "From 2009-11, 80 percent of childhood drowning deaths occurred at the child?s residence or someone else?s home. A quarter of drowning deaths occurred among adolescents, mostly while swimming, boating or fishing on lakes and rivers."
Prevention requires constant supervision of toddlers and children around all types of water. This not only includes the obvious such as pools, swift-flowing creeks and large bodies of water, but also bath-tubs, car-washing buckets and ornamental ponds, Pollack says. Toddlers can fall in and drown even in just a few inches of standing water in a bucket. It is also important to empty baby pools immediately after use.
Drowning can happen "swiftly and silently," Pollack writes. This requires a responsible adult to supervise children at all times, even if lifeguards are present. And if a child can't swim, this adult should be within arms-reach. Supervision is needed even if the child is wearing an appropriately sized Coast Guard-approved life vest. Floaties and water-wings are not sufficient life-saving devices.
It is also important to create barriers to water sources. This can be accomplished by putting a four-sided, 4-foot-high fence with a self-closing gate around backyard pools or removing the ladder from above-ground pools that are not fenced.
While teaching children to swim does not replace supervision, it is an important life-saving skill children should learn, Pollack writes. The YMCA, Red Cross and university swim programs all offer lessons.
Adolescents should be reminded to never swim without a buddy and that alcohol and boating never mix, Pollack says. They should also be reminded of the dangers of swimming while fatigued and the importance of wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket when boating. (Read more)
It's important not to lose sight of this risk as you strive to keep your children and adolescents safe, writes Susan Pollack, director of the Pediatric and Adolescent Injury Prevention Program at the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Kentucky.
"Every year in Kentucky, an average of 14 children die by drowning. About half the drowning deaths occur among children ages 1 to 4," Pollack writes in the Lexington Herald-Leader. "From 2009-11, 80 percent of childhood drowning deaths occurred at the child?s residence or someone else?s home. A quarter of drowning deaths occurred among adolescents, mostly while swimming, boating or fishing on lakes and rivers."
Prevention requires constant supervision of toddlers and children around all types of water. This not only includes the obvious such as pools, swift-flowing creeks and large bodies of water, but also bath-tubs, car-washing buckets and ornamental ponds, Pollack says. Toddlers can fall in and drown even in just a few inches of standing water in a bucket. It is also important to empty baby pools immediately after use.
Drowning can happen "swiftly and silently," Pollack writes. This requires a responsible adult to supervise children at all times, even if lifeguards are present. And if a child can't swim, this adult should be within arms-reach. Supervision is needed even if the child is wearing an appropriately sized Coast Guard-approved life vest. Floaties and water-wings are not sufficient life-saving devices.
It is also important to create barriers to water sources. This can be accomplished by putting a four-sided, 4-foot-high fence with a self-closing gate around backyard pools or removing the ladder from above-ground pools that are not fenced.
While teaching children to swim does not replace supervision, it is an important life-saving skill children should learn, Pollack writes. The YMCA, Red Cross and university swim programs all offer lessons.
Adolescents should be reminded to never swim without a buddy and that alcohol and boating never mix, Pollack says. They should also be reminded of the dangers of swimming while fatigued and the importance of wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket when boating. (Read more)
- Study Says Overweight Kids Become Overweight Teens
If a child is overweight in kindergarten, she probably will be in eighth grade, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And if your baby was heavy at birth, it has a greater chance of being fat. It found overweight kindergartners...
- Tips To Keep Children Safe From The Dangers Of Summer Heat
While enjoying time with family on the boat, at church picnics, in the backyard or at the beach, be sure to keep kids safe during the summer heat. Heat can trigger three major illnesses, says Dr. Eric Kirkendall of Cincinnati Children's...
- West Nile Outbreak Light In Ky. But 'one Of The Largest' In Nation
U.S. health officials reported Wednesday three times the usual number of West Nile cases for this time of year and one expert told the Associated Press it was ?one of the largest? outbreaks since the virus appeared in this country in 1999. So far, 1,118...
- Don't Leave Children In Hot Vehicles This Weekend, Officials Warn
With extreme heat blazing over the state this weekend, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services urges the public to avoid leaving children in vehicles. "Extreme temperatures are cause for concern, so we advise the public to take necessary steps...
- Never Leave Kids In A Hot Car, Officials Say In Press Conference Planned Even Before Louisville Toddler Died
Following a 2-year-old Louisville boy's death from hyperthermia after he was left alone in a hot car Saturday, health officials warned of the dangers of vehicle-related heat stroke at a news conference in Frankfort yesterday. "The loss of a child...