Children’s Center

Thank you for participating in the chat this week. For those who missed it or would like to review the information shared you can read the transcript. Mayo Clinic, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and USA Today are teaming up for a Twitter chat Monday, Sept. 9 from 1-2 p.m. (EDT).  Follow #suicidechat.  Those joining the Twitter chat will include @MayoClinic, @afspnational, @AmerAcadPeds, @HarvardHSPH, @USAToday and USA Today's @LizSzabo. World Suicide Prevention Day Tuesday, Sept. 10. There were 38,364 suicides in 2010 in the United States, an average of 105 each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is one suicide for every 25 attempted suicides, and suicide results in an estimated $34.6 billion in medical and work-loss costs. Topics to be discussed include: suicide statistics; trends in suicide rates; common suicide myths; what to do if you fear someone is thinking about suicide; best strategies for suicide prevention and the latest in suicide research, including mental illness, treatment options, military suicides, suicide among the LGBT community, bullying and gun restrictions. Never participated in a chat before, or want tips on how to participate effectively? Watch this video. Questions? Email Nick Hanson at: hanson.nicholas@mayo.edu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EYQ3Txm7Yc Obese teenagers who lose weight are at risk of developing eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In a recent Pediatrics article, Mayo Clinic researchers imply eating disorders among these patients are also not being adequately detected because the weight loss is seen as positive by providers and family members. Eating disorders expert in the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center and lead author of the study Leslie Sim, Ph.D., L.P., says, “Given research that suggests early intervention promotes best chance of recovery, it is imperative that these children and adolescents’ eating disorder symptoms are identified and intervention is offered before the disease progresses." In the article, Mayo Clinic researchers argue that formerly overweight adolescents tend to have more medical complications and take longer to be identified than kids who are in a normal weight range before developing their eating disorders. Click here for news release Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Sim are available in the downloads

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N-4JnfNmLg The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports up to 170,000 young athletes go to the emergency department every year for possible traumatic ...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed in the United States each year. That's roughly 10 times more cases than are generally reported to the CDC through routine surveillance. It also makes Lyme disease the most common tick-borne illness in the U.S. The CDC says this new estimate confirms that Lyme disease is a tremendous public health problem in the United States and clearly highlights an urgent need for prevention. Mayo Clinic infectious disease expert Abinash Virk, M.D., says a few basic precautions will reduce the chances of contracting not just Lyme, but all tick-borne diseases. Dr. Virk's top tick-bite prevention tips are:  Use a suitable insect repellent. Check yourself, children and pets after being outdoors. To reduce your risk on hikes, stay on trails. If you leave the path, wear long pants tucked into your socks. If you find ticks, remove them right away. Use force and pinch the tick near its mouth parts, pulling the tick out slowly in a continuous motion. Don’t twist it, which may leave mouth parts embedded in the skin. Keep grass short in yards and avoid ungroomed areas. Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Abinash (AH-bih- nosh) Virk (Verk), and b-roll of ticks in the Mayo Clinic parasitology lab are available in the downloads. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently updated its recommendations for its “Smart Snacks in Schools” proposal, including limiting in-school snacks to 200 calories a day. Mayo Clinic Health System registered dietitian Diane Dressel offers parents snack options that meet caloric standards, while also taking into account portability, perishability, food allergies and dietary restrictions. Dressel says, “What better time to get kids into healthy eating patterns than at a young age,” and encourages any snack idea to include fruits or vegetables.  Here are some suggestions: Grapes and pretzels Apples and string cheese or baked chips Carrots and fat-free dip Yogurt with strawberries or blueberries Mayo Clinic dietitian Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.,L.D., offers more tips. Zeratsky says that while you can't go through the school lunch line with your child, you can offer some guidance ahead of time about making healthy choices. Journalists: Sound bites from Katherine Zeratsky on student nutrition tips and healthy food b-roll video are available in the downloads. 

Depending where you live, the school year is about start anew or has already begun. Mayo Clinic experts would like to help lighten the load. ...

With a new school year about to get underway, moms and dads have no doubt been going down their preparations list: school supplies, car pools, bus schedules - ...

  MEDIA ALERT: To interview a Mayo Clinic expert, please contact Mayo Clinic Public Affairs at 507-284-5005   Over the next few weeks, students will be returning to their classrooms for another school year. This can be a hectic time for students and parents: the to-do list may include health checkups, getting children into a sleep routine, planning healthy lunches or preparing students facing major transitions into a new grade or school. Mayo Clinic experts offer these tips on how to make the transition back to school less stressful.   Click here for news release.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvylvRdLcfg For many this is the back-to-school season, but it takes only one hot, scorching day to remind us summer is far from over. ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKSE1YmbAiw Vaccinations are an important part of the annual back-to-school routine. The Centers for Disease Control provides a state-by-state online registry of school admission vaccination requirements. Pediatric infectious disease specialist with the Mayo Clinic Children's Center, Robert Jacobson, M.D., says now is the time to make sure your kids are up to date on their shots. Some regions of the country with whooping cough, or pertussis, outbreaks are vaccinating at younger ages to protect more children. Dr. Jacobson says there's another change to the immunization schedule to be aware of, as well. Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Jacobson are available in the downloads. File b-roll of children receiving the flu mist vaccine is also available.  

It's back-to-school time and while some children might look forward to returning to the classroom with friends, others can be anxious. A little anxiety is normal, but ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 12-year-old son goes to bed each night around 10 p.m. but usually cannot fall asleep until 1 or 2 in the morning. Is this normal for a “tween,” or should I talk to his doctor? What are some things that could cause insomnia in someone his age? ANSWER: Lots of children your son's age have trouble falling asleep easily at night. In many cases, the reason for this can be traced back to habits a child has developed that interfere with good sleep. Less often, it may be due to a sleep disorder. Before you see a doctor, check to make sure your son’s routines are sleep-friendly. For example, one of the best ways to ensure healthy sleep is setting a consistent wake-up time and sticking to it. The wake-up time doesn’t have to be exactly the same time every day, but it should be within a two-hour window.