Safer Child Products

Well, summer vacation is just about over as we all get ready for school.  In our house we got so used to sleeping late and being at our leisure that it will be hard to get back to the routine of getting and moving in the morning for school.  That’s why I have begun backing up bedtime and waking the kids at a reasonable morning hour!  However, what we have not practiced is wearing shoes!  Shoes you ask?  My kids have been wearing flip flops or sandals or summer and now must transition to wearing sneakers or closed shoes that will protect and support their feet.  We need to teach our children that shoes must stay on their feet, and that they need appropriate foot wear, not only for gym days, but for every day on the playground.  It is not safe to wear flip flops or open sandals to school.  You don’t want someone to step on the back of their shoe and your child goes flying!  You don’t want mulch or other debris to get stuck in their foot!  Some schools even include footwear in their dress code or code of conduct.  One such school stated “For safety on the playground, shoes must be worn at all times. Also, all shoes must have a back strap or back support. Suggested style: shoes appropriate for PE.” Whatever their age, this is a good lesson to learn. It continues to be a problem as the weather cools off and the kids want to wear cute or stylish boots to school, or I know my daughter likes to wear flats with her dresses.  What do we do then? Though I prefer my kids wearing sneakers every day, my best suggestion is to compromise and pack the sneakers for recess. Wishing you all a safe and wonderful school year!

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It’s back to school time for many of us whether your child is 4 or 14!    Backpacks are an essential component of back to school gear.  Your child may tell you that it has to be their favorite color or favorite character or everyone’s wearing a messenger bag this year!  However, backpacks are not just for looks!  The improper usage of a backpack can have long term harmful effects on your child’s spine. 

I watched the past 2 years as my little one has worn her saggy backpack down by her but, while my older one struggled with carrying a messenger bag.  After reading up on Backpack Safety, this year I got smart.  I made sure that each of them tried on the backpacks before we bought any.  They had to fit properly and be easy to adjust.  They had to be comfortable so that the kids would want to wear them properly every day. This year I am expecting my big one to have more work and a heavier load, so I wanted a backpack that was up to the job!

According to Backpack Safety America, a child should never carry more than 15 % of their bodyweight in their backpack and it should not rest lower than the base of their spine.  “When worn correctly, the weight in a backpack is evenly distributed across the body, and shoulder and neck injuries are less common than if someone carried a briefcase or purse. As practical as backpacks are, though, they can strain muscles and joints and may cause back pain if they're too heavy or are used incorrectly.”

Dr. Chad Laurence advises that the backpack be worn snugly against the body, have a structurally reinforced base as well as a belt strap.

For more backpack safety recommendations and explanations of pain and risks from improper usage, visit:

http://www.communitypub.com/education/x1528797569/Backpacks-Not-your-spines-best-friend

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Last Week Allen got blood drawn for further matching.  They said we would know more in 72 hours.  It has now been a week and we have not heard a thing! 

Allen reached out to his contact at the hospital but has not gotten a response.

He will contact Piper Wood at the National Marrow Donor Association and see if we can get some answers.

Stay Tuned!

Safer Child Products

Last week my husband, Dr. Allen, received an email that could change his life.  He was told that he is a potential bone marrow match!  Over the next few weeks, he will be sharing the decisions, the process, and the journey. We welcome comments about your thoughts and your own experiences too!

I must get over 100 e-mails a day and almost deleted the e-mail that would change my life. You know how it goes, scan the subject line, see if it seems interesting and then scan the “From” line.  Strange subject line: “Bone Marrow Match!”, “From” line had “Piper Wood”. Since I have my e-mail set in preview pane I was able to see a blue outline banner across the top that says, “Be The Match” with a logo after the word “Be” with the rest a blur in a dark blue background. It was quite informal with an introductory, Dear Allen, with my name in red letters. I am not used to important e-mails addressed to me this way. Actually, I deleted the e-mail and later dragged it back to my inbox.

It took me several patients later to read the message deeper, not word for word but a deeper scan of the content. It had a bunch of links, areas in bold, areas in red and related that I had joined National Marrow Donor Program in May 2008. I must admit, it took me time to connect the dots, I barely remember last week yet alone 2008. My heart started to beat faster when the connections were being made. What do I do? Delete it and no one will know was one of my many thoughts that raced in my mind that afternoon at 4 PM. Was this the bone marrow drive my resident organized to try and find a match for one of our department ‘s administrative assistants son? I called my former resident and spoke to some of my colleagues. I read the e-mail again, “49 year old in need of a transplant”.

The next day, my wife received a voice mail on our home phone and the same day I received a letter in the mail, all saying the same thing. All urging me to please respond fast; this man has Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and needs a transplant. My unsettled stomach churned and churned. I was the medical student that hated blood, never donated blood, and would almost pass out every time I saw a lot of blood. Just press the delete button, call the registry and leave a message that I was not interested kept entering my mind. I looked at the website links and kept focusing on the 20-40 hours needed to complete the process if I was a close match, 1-2 days out of work, up to 4 weeks of pain, anesthesia or not, shots to bring up my cell counts, patients that may need to be cancelled, vacation plans with my family. All of this is a big blur. Maybe there is another close match for this gentleman!! However, I kept thinking of Mark Wibbens, the person the bone marrow drive was supposed to help but didn’t, our good friend who survived leukemia at age 2 (did not need a transplant), and my own patient who was in the hospital with a new diagnosis of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma after having his tumor removed.

My usual late night e-mail response was no exception to this situation. After discussing this with my wife I sent an e-mail the next evening, almost 11 PM, “What do I need to do now to go to next step”……….

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After hearing about Leiby Kletzkey, the 8 y/o religious Jewish boy from Brooklyn who was brutally murdered and dismembered, I said to myself, “If a Hasidic Jewish boy is not safe in his close knit religious neighborhood in Brooklyn, then none of us are safe!”  I was distraught.  Over-reacting a little?  Maybe, however as a parent of children around his age, it certainly hit close to home.  Not only am I saddened about the horror and the tragedy for the boy himself, but imagine how his mother must feel!  I can’t imagine that she will ever get over that loss, but I know that I would second guess everything I ever taught my child about stranger danger and who to trust.  Every day we must make decisions about whether to leave our child home alone, or whether to let them walk alone. 

So what is the right answer?  I read many articles about the Leiby Kletzkey case and one man said “my children don’t talk to any strangers, whether they are wearing a yarmulke or a do rag!” Is that the answer?  Who is really a stranger?  What happened to being neighborly and saying hello to people in your neighborhood you don’t really know but occasionally bump into on the street?  Are we helping our children or doing them a disservice by interfering with their social development?  David Parkin, a Retired Police Superintendent suggests “Denying Children the opportunity to be sociable is damaging to society.”

I think that some good guidelines for safety are never to walk alone, and never to approach a car. Teach your children NOT to be lured by someone asking them for directions, or asking them to help find a missing puppy.  In short, don’t GO anywhere with strangers!

Some safe people to talk to or ask for help are Police Officers/ Security Guards, and shop keepers.  Teachers are good people to talk to as well.  Teach your children to trust their instincts. If someone is making them feel uncomfortable, or they get a funny feeling about a person, leave and go someplace else.  If they cannot find any of these “uniformed” people and need help, a Woman, a Grandparent or someone with young children may be able to help. 

For more great tips on “stranger danger” go to http://www.safetycops.com/stranger_danger.htm

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How many of us still mow our own lawns?  It can be very rewarding and good for our physical fitness if you are walking/pushing the mower!  However, Lawn mowers can also be very dangerous.  Even when off and stored in the garage, do not let children play on or with mowers.  Children need to be supervised and kept away from running lawn mowers. According to Dr. Edwin Harris, pediatric podiatrist, many children have lost toes or even portions of their feet in lawn mower accidents. Dr. Harris even suggests that no one under age 16 operate a power mower and that you don’t let children ride along while you are mowing the lawn.

Pay attention to the area around you and always look behind you and around corners to be sure that no children are hiding/ hidden there before you continue to mow that area.

To read the interview with Dr. Harris and see more CPSC recommendations go to http://www.consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=653402

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Fourth of July, Independence Day! Wow!  What an incredible feeling I get when I think about what this means for our country.  Fireworks can be so beautiful and exciting, however, at the same time I worry about people being injured while being around or setting off fireworks.  According to a study by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2009 there  “were two deaths and nearly 9,000 emergency room visits for injuries resulting from fireworks related incidents. Most fireworks injuries occurred to consumers younger than 20 and resulted in the loss of a limb in many cases.”  http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10282.html

If you are setting off fireworks around young children, please use common sense and caution and keep small children back away from all fireworks and sparklers. Do not let young children play with or light any type of fireworks.  There have been many injuries to children under age 5 from sparklers. Here are some additional tips from  http://www.kidsturncentral.com/topics/safety/fworks.htm:

• Read and follow instructions
• Always keep water and sand nearby
• NEVER light indoors use only OUTDOORS
• Never try to make your own fireworks
• Never relight fireworks that appear to have gone out
• Only light one at a time
• Never allow small children to go near fireworks
• Store in a cool dry place
• Never lean over top of fireworks to light them
• Tie hair back, wear safety goggles and no loose fitting clothes
• Sparklers should be immersed in sand once they appear out - they are still very hot and can burn

Also, the CPSC urges consumers to not use illegal fireworks.  They are far more dangerous than the legal ones and can be fatal.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday!