PedSafe Weekly Tweet Roundup: 03-05-2012 to 03-11-2012

Last updated on March 3rd, 2018 at 11:13 am

Welcome to Pediatric Safety’s “Weekly Tweet Roundup”- a recap of the past week’s child health and safety news from around the world.

Each day we strive to tweet relevant and timely health and safety information for parents, medical professionals and other caregivers. Occasionally we may miss something, but we think overall we’re doing pretty well at keeping you informed. But for our friends and colleagues who are not on Twitter (or who are but may have missed something), we offer you a recap of the past week’s top 25 tweet-worthy events.

PedSafe Tweet of the Week:

Vitamin D linked to stronger bones in girls – may help protect against stress fractures   http://t.co/BSiENCTp

March 13, 2012 | Filed Under Awareness | Leave a Comment 

Hands-Only CPR Can Save a Life

Last updated on August 30th, 2015 at 05:47 pm

Would you know what to do if someone suddenly collapsed nearby? Would you know how to assess the situation, decide on whether the person needed emergency care and administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), if necessary? Unfortunately, many people do not know how to handle this type of situation. Many fear doing the wrong thing and making a bad situation even worse. Others may fear catching a disease or illness from performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on someone without a barrier to protect against germs. For these reasons, the American Heart Association (AHA) has simplified its recommendations for performing CPR so more people are apt to learn and take action when needed.

Recently I became a certified instructor for the AHA and am trained to teach courses for healthcare professionals and for non-healthcare/non-medical people. Most of the people I teach are required to have CPR training as a part of their employer’s requirements or simply because their employer wants to have their staff trained. Other classes are for individuals who have a personal desire or reason to learn and become CPR certified. Even before I became a certified instructor, I’ve always highly encouraged everyone I know to become trained because you just never know when someone might need your help. I wish we could make it mandatory for parents to learn CPR before a baby is born but that will probably never happen. So all I can do is encourage and recommend taking a class and try to inform you of helpful information available to you and anyone else interested in knowing how to perform CPR in an emergency.

The AHA wants to encourage more people to help so they simplified the actions and process of helping for those who have not been formally trained. They want to spread the word about Hands-Only CPR because it can save lives that may be lost otherwise. Hands-Only CPR consists of immediately calling 911 or your local emergency number to get help on the way and then beginning chest compressions by placing your hands in the center of the victim’s chest and pushing hard and fast at a rate of 100 beats per minute. Continue doing this until help arrives or someone else can take over for you.

To see a demonstration of Hands-Only CPR, watch this video:

Visit the AHA’s Hands-Only CPR information page to learn more.

The AHA has also developed a handy app for most smartphones that can be referred to in the case of an emergency. This free app offers instructions and video. Just search “Hands-Only CPR” in iTunes and the Android Marketplace to find and download it. If you have another type of smartphone, search that term in your phone’s app store.

For Infants, Children and in Certain Circumstances…

“The American Heart Association recommends conventional CPR with breaths and compressions for infants and children; victims of drowning, drug overdose or other respiratory problems; and adult victims who are found already unconscious and not breathing normally.” …American Heart Association

A CPR course teaches you the skills needed to help those other victims. You’ll also practice performing the same two steps you’ll need for Hands-Only™ CPR. Typically people who have had CPR training are more confident about their skills and more likely to assist someone in a real emergency.

Even a very short CPR training program that you can do at home, like the American Heart Association’s 22-minute CPR Anytime, provides skills training and practice that can prepare you to perform high-quality chest compressions.”

The AHA also has an Infant CPR Anytime course available, which is highly recommended for all parents, grandparents, and caregivers.

If you would like to learn more about CPR and life-saving skills beyond Hands-Only CPR, please visit the AHA’s class locator page.

Remember, you never know when you may be called upon to help save a life. Why not learn how today?

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Editors Note:  AHA’s Hands-Only CPR is only for use on adults. We highly recommend every parent get certified in conventional CPR…a child’s life could one day depend on it.

March 12, 2012 | Filed Under Community | 2 Comments 

Childhood Obesity: School Lunch Battle Won…How Goes the War?

Last updated on April 29th, 2017 at 07:46 pm

In January of 2012, First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today unveiled new standards for school meals. These are the first major improvements to school lunch programs in more than fifteen years and are expected to improve the health and nutrition of nearly 32 million kids that participate in school meal programs every school day across the nation.

Under the new rules:

  • Schools will be required to double the servings of vegetable and fruits per meal.
  • All grains must be whole grains and only low-fat and fat-free milk will be served.
  • There will also be limits on the amount of trans fat and salt in each meal.
  • Additionally, for the first time, there will be age-based minimum and maximum calorie levels set per day.
  • A sample “Before / After Elementary School Lunch Menu” is available for download here

According to Sarah Fudin, Social Media and Outreach Coordinator for MAT@USC (the Master of Arts in Teaching program for the University of Southern California), “Childhood obesity has become parents’ number one health concern – ahead of smoking and drug abuse.”

We have won a significant battle here!

On the other hand, US kids watch approximately 44.5 hours a week of television and are exposed to approximately 30,000 TV ads per year, half of which are for candy, snacks, sugary cereal and fast food.  Can we truly be surprised that 1/3 of our children are either overweight or obese?

In an effort to support the nutritional standards for school meals and our teachers and students, MAT@USC has created an infographic, “Targeting Children with Treats” with statistics sharing lifestyle, consumption, and media activity relating to children.

Can we afford to relax after winning 1 battle?  What do you think?

Brought to you by Teach.com and MAT@USC.

March 9, 2012 | Filed Under Awareness | 2 Comments 

PedSafe Weekly Tweet Roundup: 02-27-2012 to 03-04-2012

Last updated on March 3rd, 2018 at 11:14 am

Welcome to Pediatric Safety’s “Weekly Tweet Roundup”– a recap of the past week’s child health and safety news from around the world.

Each day we strive to tweet relevant and timely health and safety information for parents, medical professionals and other caregivers. Occasionally we may miss something, but we think overall we’re doing pretty well at keeping you informed. But for our friends and colleagues who are not on Twitter (or who are but may have missed something), we offer you a recap of the past week’s top 15 tweet-worthy events.

PedSafe Tweet of the Week:

If asthma is not correctly managed during pregnancy an unborn child’s health can be at risk  http://t.co/m9kIgUBI

March 6, 2012 | Filed Under Awareness | Leave a Comment 

New Crash Test Dummy Will Keep Older Kids Safer in Cars

Last updated on March 3rd, 2018 at 11:14 am

There’s a new kid on the block at NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Last week NHTSA unveiled a new “10-year old child” crash test dummy – joining 12-month, 3-year and 6-year old siblings – for use in testing child restraint devices for older children weighing up to 80 pounds.

This crash test advancement follows enhanced guidance on booster seat use with older children, issued last year by NHTSA and the American Academy of Pediatrics. As stated in their press release on February 21, 2012, NHTSA “recommends that children ride in a booster seat until they are big enough to fit in a seat belt properly, which is typically when the child is somewhere between 8-12 years old and about 4 feet 9 inches tall.” This is an important issue, as many kids are currently not restrained in a booster seat until they meet these guidelines, as I noted in a post in January of this year, entitled “I’m 9 Years Old – Do I Really Still Need a Booster Seat?”. Despite the growing body of evidence supporting the use of booster seats for older kids, most states have not yet enacted laws in keeping with the guidelines – and, frankly, most parents just aren’t aware of the issue or need.

Nevertheless, car restraint systems and booster seats for older, heavier kids have proliferated on the market in recent years….but no crash safety tests have been conducted for kids weighing more than 65 pounds. With the introduction of this new crash test dummy, parents will eventually be able to assess the safety and performance of car seats marketed for their older kids, as simulated in tests of a 30-mile-per-hour car crash. However, the data on your current booster seat may not be available for a while, as manufacturers have two years to conduct tests and ensure their restraints meet the safety requirements. But at least this is a development moving in the right direction.

March 2, 2012 | Filed Under Involvement | 1 Comment