Teen Health 411

Thank You - Grand Rounds 4.34

2008-05-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

Thank you David E. Williams at the Health Business Blog for hosting Grand Rounds 4.34 this week and including my post about the Care and Feeding of Adolescents. This week had some very interesting posts included and I loved all the humor! Photo credit: edbierman

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T17:42:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day everyone! I hope that you managed to mother yourself, your children, your own mother, your partner, your pets, your house, your work, the earth, and the people you came into contact with today. What a wonderful opportunity Mother's Day is to appreciate all of the unconditional love and attention that we enjoy every day and all of the blessings of love and attention we are able...

The Care and Feeding of Adolescents

2008-05-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

Given that food is a basic need and we all know that the obesity rate among children has tripled in the last 40 years, and that more and more people are living with Type 2 Diabetes, you would think that there would be lots of support for eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and exercising daily. Riiiight! That would be in the perfect world, where preteens and teens did not care what their peers...

Thank You - Grand Rounds 4.33

2008-05-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dr. Bates at Suture for a Living for hosting Grand Rounds 4.33 this week and including my post from Teen Health 411 about the danger of cosmetics. This week was really interesting and the photos from Arkansas were beautiful! Photo credit: web_guy94301

Social Norms and Teen Drinking

2008-05-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

Oh my, teachers are having DUI courts in middle school these days, suggesting that teen drinking and driving is a frequent enough occurrence to warrant early prevention, but the data says otherwise. I believe it is our own bad habits and the media that are driving our perception that teens are drinking and driving more frequently. In fact, in 2006 there were 63% fewer teen DUI-related deaths ...

For Goodness Sake - Cosmetics Can Kill You

2008-05-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

Why must everything be a struggle? I think I am doing my teenage girls a favor by buying what I consider to be high-end facial cleansers, moisturizers and make-up, in hopes that their chance of getting cancer will be reduced through the use of "organic, natural" products. Silly me - just because it says it is organic does not mean it really is - for goodness sake - what was I thinking? A friend...

Teenage Birth Rate Increased in 2006

2008-05-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Well now there is something President Bush can take credit for - the teenage live birth rate increased by 3% in 2006, the first increase since 1991, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We do not know if this is the start of a trend back up to the high of 61.8 live births per 1,000 females of 1991, but it sure is not a good sign, and can be added to the long list of...

The First Day at Work - for Teens and Parents

2008-04-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

For teens, congratulations - you have done it - you have a job and today is the first day! Take a deep breath, be early and enthusiastic. Remember that every person working where you work now had a first day and will understand when you have questions and worries. Do not be shy - ask away. It is better to ask then do things incorrectly. Here are a few things to keep in mind: Be clear with your...

Thank You - Grand Rounds 4.32

2008-04-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you Doc Gurley for hosting Grand Rounds 4.32 this week and including my post about parents and teen media. The WWF theme was amazingly fun to read and bloggers really "put out" in response to the call to beat their chests! Photo credit: jeffisageek

New Media In The Everyday Lives of Youth

2008-04-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

I went to the public forum presented by commonsense media and the MacArthur Foundation at Stanford last Wednesday and was pleasantly surprised by the range of information presented during the two hours, particularly that it was primarily qualitative. Sadly, after a 12-hour day I had to get home to kids and missed the reception, but the conversations started in the forum were very...

A Parenting Book That Could Change Your Life

2008-04-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

OK, I know, I sound like an infomercial, but I am serious. How does never being angry at your teenager again sound? How about raising happy and responsible children? Who could not want to experience those things? Dr. Greg Baer, the author of "Real Love in Parenting," thinks he can teach you the way to raise wonderful children and be a happier person in the process. I tell you, I keep looking for...

Thank You: Grand Rounds 4.31

2008-04-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Thank you Dr. Val for hosting Grand Rounds this week and including my post about Sun Safety. There were some great posts this week and I really liked your tagging system! Photo credit: web_guy94301

News for Twilight Fans

2008-04-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Good news Twilight fans. You can purchase "Breaking Dawn," Book #4 in the series by Stephenie Meyer, at Amazon.com, although it will not be delivered until 8/2/08. Another piece of good news is that "Twilight," the movie based on Book #1 in the series, is expected to be out in theaters 12/12/08. It is currently being filmed at Madison High School in Portland, Oregon. Soon we will be able to see...

Sun Safety

2008-04-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

It is time for the summer sun reminder. At least in California, the sun is out and it is easy these beautiful days to stay outside too long, or forget to wear sunscreen. Please be careful with your skin when you are exposed to the sun. Skin cancer is one of the most insidious, widespread and dangerous forms of cancer. It develops invisibly over the years, primarily through overexposure to the...

Vote for Healthline @ The People’s Voice Webby Awards!

2008-04-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

Healthline has been nominated for the prestigious Webby Award in the category of “Health." The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences will choose Webby Award winners, but the People’s Choice Webby lets you decide. It’s easy: Simply log on to http://peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com/Register to vote (or log in if you are a returnee)After registration, click on the Web site icon and find...

Internet-Based Hotline to Counsel Abused Young People

2008-04-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN.org) has run an anti-sexual-assault telephone hotline for 14 years. Trained operators for RAINN do not press callers for revealing information but connect a person to a local resource, counselor, or authority, when the person is ready. Most other hotlines work the same way because hotlines are frequently the first stop to recovery after...

Grand Rounds 4.30: Thank You

2008-04-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Rachel Warden at Women’s Health News for hosting Grand Rounds this week and including my post about IUDs and teens. This week was interesting, funny and included some of my favorite bloggers! Photo Credit: web_guy94301

IUDs for Teenagers

2008-04-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

To emphasize the "importance of appropriate contraception" for teenagers, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (ACOG) Committee on Adolescent Health Care has issued an opinion (#392) that is strongly in favor of providing IUDs to adolescents. In the opinion statement that addresses common misperceptions about teenagers' use of these devices as well as possible adverse effects...

Treating the Whole Person

2008-04-12T09:03:00.001-07:00

The habits we form from childhood make no small difference, but rather they make all the difference. - Aristotle In education and medicine we struggle to educate and treat the whole person, because it is the whole person walking through a day, a disease, and a life. But what does it mean to take the "whole" person into account? Where do you start if you want to consider a person's intellectual...

Eating Disorders and Teens

2008-04-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

The term "eating disorders" includes a wide range of illnesses that continue to impact young people, particularly teens. With media personalities who are stick-shaped and the focus on dieting in our culture, children as young as five an six are worrying about what they eat and their size. Puberty is particularly tough on youth who on average gain about 40 pounds and grow about 10 inches during a...

Thank You - Grand Rounds 4.29

2008-04-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dr. Wes Fisher at DrWes for hosting Grand Rounds 4.29 this week and including my poem in tribute to Larry King, a teen killed for being gay. This week's Grand Rounds was a wonderful way to start my day - and not bad for a cardiologist - tweeners, sex, carbs and eavesdropping - it did get my heart pumping! Photo credit: web_guy94301

Cell Phones and Teen Health

2008-04-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

The Journal of Adolescent Health published an article this month describing a pilot study with 15 girls looking at the feasibility of using a GPS-enabled cell phone to track adolescents' whereabouts and study the health risks that teenagers face when not at home or school, and possibly to intervene. The research hopes to develop a way to intervene with teenagers at the time, and in the place,...

Collge Students and Stress

2008-04-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Stress is actually a pretty normal part of college and adult life. Stress tends to result from balancing different aspects of our lives. Schoolwork has to be done, there are financial worries, extracurricular activities that can add pressure, as well as family issues back home, relationships, friends, work, health, and worrying about getting a job or into graduate school after college. Stress is...

Emergency Preparedness for Teens Home Alone

2008-04-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have encouraged parents to put an In Case of Emergency (ICE) number into their children's cell phones, as well as some names of adults you trust to help in an emergency when the parents cannot be reached, but what I forgot was to encourage parents to program in the phone number of your local advice nurse. As our teens get older and start staying at home alone, or with their siblings, stuff is...

In Memory of Larry King

2008-03-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

Larry King was murdered on February 12, 2008 at his junior high in Oxnard, CA. Larry was only 15 years old and liked to come to school in makeup, high heels, and earrings. When teased by the other boys, he teased them right back and was confident in his own gay, brave self. The eighth-grade boy who shot him "because he was gay" is being tried as an adult and will likely go to prison for life,...