Children’s Center - December 2015 Archives

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Nearly 1 million incidences of herpes zoster, which is also known as shingles, occur every year in the U.S., with an ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, has been found in the Rochester community. Many Rochester schools, sports teams and day ...

Are antibiotics a safe and effective alternative to surgery for some kids with appendicitis? A recent study published in JAMA Surgery suggests when chosen ...

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its updated list of recommended health care screenings for children, that include checking for depression, high cholesterol and HIV. Mayo Clinic Children's Center pediatrician Dr. Angela Mattke says the revised recommendations are a "firm affirmative to pediatricians that doing these screenings or testing will be beneficial to the child’s health." What are well-child visits? Well-child visits are another name for routine checkups or physicals. "Much of the AAP Preventive Health Care Screening and Assessment Schedule for Children's Checkups includes screening as opposed to skipping straight to testing. Screening usually involves asking questions pertaining to the subject or using a validated screening tool such as the CRAFFT (Car, Relax, Forget, Friends, Trouble) for drug and alcohol use or PHQ-9 Modified (depression screening tool) to make sure questions are asked in such a way that have been shown to pick up children and teens at risk for whatever they are screening for," says Dr. Mattke. She stresses that screening children is necessary because some children are at risk for these health conditions, the rate of the conditions is increasing in younger age groups, and without screening, they may go undiagnosed and suffer serious health consequences.

National Handwashing Awareness Week Basic rules to prevent illness during the cold and flu season are as simple as knowing how to wash your hands properly, when to wash your hands, what products to use and why you should pay special attention to skin cleanliness. "Teaching kids healthy hygiene habits is essential, because young children are more likely to bring respiratory illnesses home from school or daycare, which can infect your entire family," says Peggy Decker, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Health System pediatrician. Dr. Decker encourages people to keep the 5 Ws in mind when teaching your children about proper hand hygiene.

Watch today's Mayo Clinic Minute The same brain disease that’s plagued Hall of Fame football players like Frank Gifford has shown up in male ...

New World Health Organization (WHO) global estimates of foodborne diseases find 1 in 10 people now get sick from contaminated food each year, and children under 5 years of age are at high risk of death from the disease. "This is sobering news," says Dr. Pritish Tosh, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert. "It puts into perspective how big the problems of clean water and sanitation are around the world." Key statistics in the new report include: 600 million people worldwide fall ill from foodborne illnesses every year 420,000 people worldwide die from eating contaminated food every year Children under 5 years of age are at particularly high risk for death, with 125,000 dying every year Africa and Southeast Asia have the highest burden of foodborne diseases The WHO report says the risk of foodborne diseases is most severe in low- and middle-income countries. It is linked to a number of factors, including preparing food with unsafe water, poor hygiene and inadequate conditions in food production and storage.