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For more than a year, civilian doctors in Ukraine have been swapping their white coats for military fatigues, joining thousands of combat medics — from nurses to anesthesiologists to pediatricians — who are putting their lives on the line to treat an endless stream of casualties. In this exclusive video, New York Times journalists spent a week inside a military field hospital in eastern Ukraine, filming a team of combat medics as they raced to save the lives of wounded soldiers. “We’re working on two front lines,” said Oleksiy Nazarishin, a Ukrainian surgeon and the chief medical officer. For the medics, it’s a grueling cycle of trauma, death and exhaustion. And when an injured enemy Russian soldier arrives at the field hospital, the medics must set aside their anger and uphold their medical oath to treat him like any other patient.

Persons: pediatricians —, “, ”, Oleksiy Nazarishin, it’s Organizations: New York Times Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian

☆ How Much Do You Know About the Menstrual Cycle?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Alisha Haridasani Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Posts on social media and several surveys underscore just how pervasive the knowledge void is. A 2016 survey suggested that women of reproductive age also had notable gaps in their understanding of the menstrual cycle. The problem is partly rooted in the quality and depth of sex and health education in schools, which varies dramatically from state to state, Dr. Bobel said. In the fall, Washington, D.C., will become the first jurisdiction in the country to roll out mandatory, standardized classes on menstrual health starting in the fourth grade. In Florida, a new bill limiting education around the menstrual cycle for certain age groups will go into effect on July 1.

Persons: Tampax, Chris Bobel, Bobel, Ed, “, she’s, ”, Jennifer Lincoln, ” “ Organizations: University of Massachusetts, D.C Locations: University of Massachusetts Boston, Washington, Florida

☆ The 10 best states to live in as a working father, according to a new study
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

WalletHub released a study ahead of Father's Day on the best states to live as a working dad. The study was released ahead of Father's Day, which is this Sunday (still time to get a gift!). Analyzing about two dozen factors, WalletHub worked to find which state's working fathers were in the best circumstances. Child care: Average cost of child care, quality of day care services, availability of pediatricians, and quality of school systems. Here's the top 10 states for working fathers, according to WalletHub:

Persons: WalletHub, — Organizations: Service, of Labor Locations: Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Connecticut , New Hampshire, Wisconsin, New Mexico , Mississippi, Louisiana

☆ Energy Drinks Are Surging. So Are Their Caffeine Levels.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A 12-ounce can of Red Bull contains about 114 milligrams of caffeine — more than three times the amount in a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola. Prime Energy has more: 200 milligrams in each 12-ounce can. A 16-ounce can of Bang Energy Drink, the size typically sold in convenience stores, has 300 milligrams of caffeine. The Food and Drug Administration has investigated a handful of reports over the years involving people dying shortly after consuming energy drinks or five-hour energy shots. Pediatricians recommend that youths ages 12 to 18 should not consume more than 100 milligrams of caffeine per day and that children under 12 should avoid caffeine completely.

Persons: Red Bull, Paul, Bull, ”, Ryan Stanton Organizations: . Prime Energy, Bang Energy, Mr, Prime Energy, ”, Drug Administration Locations: Britain, Lexington, Ky

☆ Weight-loss surgery is becoming more common among children and teens, new research shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Millions of children and teens live with obesity in the United States, and weight-loss surgery is becoming a more common way to treat it, new research shows. The trend held strong in the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, even as the number of weight-loss surgeries among adults dipped. Between 2020 and 2021, the number of weight-loss surgeries among youth jumped 19%. Childhood obesity is more prevalent among certain populations, including Black and Hispanic youth, according to the CDC. The new data shows that weight-loss surgery increased more than twice as much as average among these populations, up 42% among Back youth and 53% among Hispanic youth between 2020 and 2021.

☆ Parents need not fear adolescent weight gain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Michelle Icard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Yet it sends adults into a tailspin of fear around weight, health and self-esteem. Yet weight gain remains a sensitive, sometimes scary subject for parents who fear too much weight gain, too quickly. “About 25 percent of growth in height occurs during this time so as youth grow taller, they’re also going to gain weight. Parents need to work on their own weight bias, but they also need to protect their children from providers who don’t know how to communicate with their patients about weight. “We all have a lot of work to do when it comes to conversations about weight,” Hutchison said.

☆ Getting prescriptions via telehealth may change soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Patients will still be able to get prescriptions for non-controlled medications, such as antibiotics or birth control, via telehealth. CNN: What if you can’t see your telehealth provider in person? The other factor that’s significant here is we discussed all the proposed rules and the status at the federal level, but there’s also the state level. Let’s say the DEA puts out their final rule, and there’s some flexibility — some states might adopt the older Ryan Haight Act language from the federal level, so they might actually be stricter than what we’ll be seeing at the federal level. Khan: The DEA has indicated that the absolute requirement at the federal level is one in-person examination.

☆ More Kids Get Weight-Loss Surgery to Treat Obesity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sarah Toy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A bariatric surgery can benefit children as young as 13, according to guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Photo: Luis Robayo/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMore children are getting stomach surgery to help them lose weight, the most drastic of measures doctors are recommending to confront relentlessly rising obesity rates. Many of the young people who undergo bariatric surgery didn’t lose weight through diet, exercise or weight-loss drugs. Bariatric surgery can be a faster, more lasting fix for patients with severe obesity, researchers and pediatricians said.

☆ More people with Down syndrome are living longer, but medical systems aren’t keeping up
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Tony Leys | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Marilyn researched online and learned the University of Kansas Health System has a special medical clinic for adults with Down syndrome. The clinic Marilyn found is in Kansas City, Kansas, 80 miles northwest of the family’s cattle farm in central Missouri. A directory published by the Global Down Syndrome Foundation lists just 15 medical programs nationwide that are housed outside of children’s hospitals and that accept Down syndrome patients who are 30 or older. But she has felt treated like a child by other health care providers, who have spoken to her parents instead of to her during appointments. Advocates and clinicians say it’s crucial for health care providers to communicate as much as possible with patients who have disabilities.

☆ As weight-loss drugs hit the U.S. market, doctors debate how to use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The American Medical Association logo is seen at their office in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/March 30 (Reuters) - As powerful new obesity drugs enter the U.S. market, medical associations are keen to advise their members on how to best use them for patients. "These new compounds are game changers, there's no doubt about it," said Anthony Comuzzie, chief executive of The Obesity Society. The group last provided obesity treatment guidelines in 2013 alongside the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. OBESITY AS A DISEASEThe American Medical Association, the nation’s largest medical group, recognized obesity as a disease in 2013.

☆ Fact Check-Michigan incentive program for children’s vaccines paid far less than $40,000 to individual providers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The posts read, “DID YOU KNOW: Blue Cross Blue Shield pays pediatricians a $40,000 bonus for fully vaccinating 100 patients under the age of 2. The full document does describe an incentive program offered to Michigan providers in 2016, and the excerpt seen in the posts about childhood vaccines is on the document’s page 15. “While vaccinations may fall into that category, they would not be the sole performance measure,” said a spokesperson for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), which represents the insurer’s affiliates in multiple states. Each of the 34 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies “sets its own value-based contracts and determines which performance measures would be taken into account for incentives,” she added. A 2016 Michigan program paid individual providers smaller maximum amounts for vaccinating children than claimed online.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg wants to let teens into the metaverse—2 U.S senators say that's a huge mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Two U.S. senators are less than impressed with Meta's reported plans to open up its Horizon Worlds metaverse platform to users as young as 13 — so, they're urging Mark Zuckerberg to reconsider. and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) published excerpts from a letter they sent to Zuckerberg. In those excerpts, they accused Meta of trying to "target young people" specifically to "maximize profit," noting the company's struggles to attract users to its flagship metaverse product, Horizon Worlds. Horizon Worlds is an app where users can build and explore virtual worlds while playing games and interacting with other users. Meta declined to comment on the senators' letter, pointing instead to a statement to the Journal last month, which said bringing younger users onto Horizon Worlds would come with "age-appropriate tools and protections."

☆ Democratic Senators urge Meta to halt launch of Metaverse app for teens, citing company's 'failure to protect' young users
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta is preparing to open its app 'Horizon Worlds' to teens as early as this month. "Meta's plan to target young people with offerings in the metaverse is particularly concerning in light of your consistent failures to protect young users," the Senators wrote. According to the Wall Street Journal, Meta plans to release the Horizon Worlds app to teens in order to expand its user base. "Any strategy to invite young users into a digital space rife with potential harms should not be driven by a goal to maximize profit," the Senators wrote. "We call on you to immediately halt Meta's plan to bring teen users onto Horizon Worlds."

Autism rates tripled among children in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area from 2000 to 2016, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Pediatrics. Although there is no medical test for autism, the CDC has established a network of 17 sites across the country that estimate autism rates based on a combination of formal medical diagnoses and records from schools and health care providers. Nationally, the rise in autism rates has been similar to the trend in New York and New Jersey, according to a 2021 CDC report. But there’s probably more to the story: Genetic factors, and perhaps some environmental ones, too, might also be contributing to the trend. Beyond the improvements in diagnostics, genetic factors could be driving up autism cases on their own, experts said.

☆ New guidelines for treating childhood obesity include medications and surgery for first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kaitlin Sullivan | Kaitlin Sullivan Is A Contributor For Nbcnews.Com Who Has Worked With Nbc News Investigations. She Reports On Health | Science | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Intensive behavioral and lifestyle changes should be the first-line approach, but the AAP also includes recommendations for anti-obesity medications and surgery for the first time. The guidelines say that pediatricians should offer weight-loss drugs for children age 12 and up with obesity. She also acknowledged that these lifestyle changes can be really hard to adopt, especially for overworked and low-income parents. The more adverse the environment around you, the harder it is to live a healthy lifestyle,” Hassink said. Medications and surgery are expensive, and asking overstretched parents to implement lifestyle changes is not always realistic.

☆ Pediatricians Recommend Weight-Loss Drugs for Obese Children
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Sarah Toy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Children 12 and older who are obese should be offered weight-loss medications alongside lifestyle and behavioral counseling, according to new American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. The American Academy of Pediatrics for the first time recommended physicians offer weight-loss drugs for children with obesity, aiming to take early action against an increasingly common condition linked to a host of health problems. Children 12 or older who are obese should be offered medications for weight loss alongside lifestyle and behavioral counseling, according to guidelines published on Monday by the largest professional association of pediatricians in the U.S. The association also recommended that doctors offer to refer severely obese children 13 or older to surgeons to assess whether they would be good candidates for bariatric surgery. It said pediatricians should screen obese children for high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension.

☆ Parents are scrambling to find children's Tylenol, Motrin, and Advil as medicine shortages plague stores like Walgreens and CVS
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A combination of COVID-19, flu, and RSV has made kids sick and skyrocketed demand for medications. CVS, Target, and Walgreens have all put limits on the amount of children's meds parents can buy. And now, a shortage of children's medications is leaving parents scrambling to care for their kids as three potentially deadly diseases permeate the United States. Why children's Tylenol and other drugs are in short supplyThe explosion of the three illnesses has left parents demanding more medications than stores and suppliers anticipated — leading to a shortage. When she arrived at her local CVS in San Diego County, California, she only spotted two bottles of children's Tylenol left on the shelves.

☆ Here’s How Doctors Treat Their Own Colds and Flus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Andrea Petersen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Squirt bottles filled with saline solution, elderberry tablets and cans of chicken soup: These are just a few of the weapons doctors deploy when they personally get struck down by a winter virus. Americans are being hit with a barrage of seasonal illnesses right now including flu, RSV and Covid-19. So, we asked ear, nose and throat specialists, pediatricians and family doctors about the medicines they take and remedies they swear by when sick.

☆ During the holidays, the ER does far more than what it is meant to do
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Dr. Owais Durrani | Dr. Owais Durrani Is An Emergency Medicine Physician In Houston | Tx. Dr. Durrani Has A Background In Political Science | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Patients’ ER experiences typically consist of long wait times, and that naturally leads to frustration and a frequent misunderstanding that nothing is being done or that they are being diagnosed improperly. The truth is our emergency departments have had to take on a lot more than that, serving as the safety net of the country’s entire health care system. You’ve heard this over and over — our health care system is broken. We have lost valuable physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and other vital members of the health care system. We have a very different health care system and training of physicians than those countries.

The vast majority are either unvaccinated or have received just one of the two recommended doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to City of Columbus Public Health. The outbreak, the largest in the U.S. since 2019, is happening as resistance to school vaccination requirements is spreading across the country. The percentage of parents who said they were against vaccination requirements for school was even higher. "As I think about the challenges that we have to public health vaccine, misinformation is among the biggest threats," she said. "Here in Ohio, we have some pretty active anti-vaccine groups," said Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology at the Kent State University College of Public Health.

☆ High demand for children's medications shines a light on fragile US drug supplies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Even when demand is not sky-high, drugs shortages happen regularly – but usually more quietly – in the US. At any time, the reasons why shelves may be empty vary from place to place and from drug to drug. With children’s medications, drug manufacturers say they are running full-tilt, and they planned for some increase in sales over the winter months. The FDA tracks drug shortages too, taking reports directly from manufacturers, but it defines them differently than the pharmacists’ group. The White House says drug shortages are a priority for President Biden’s administration, too.

☆ CDC Backs New Covid-19 Boosters for Youngest Kids
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on certain young children receiving an updated Covid-19 booster, clearing the way for the shots to be widely available at pediatricians’ offices and other vaccination sites. The agency’s move on Friday was the last step before children as young as 6 months could get the shots, which were modified to target offshoots of the Omicron variant as well as the original strain of the virus.

When she checked availability of these pain- and fever-reducing meds this week, out of 40 products – different flavors, sizes and strengths – none was in stock. For kids over 2 months of age, there is no magic number at which a fever needs to be treated. She says this is a great option for kids who can’t keep food or liquids down, too. What not to doThere are also some important things not to do if you can’t find the medication you need. Also, lukewarm baths are OK, but it’s not a good idea to put a child with a fever into a cold bath, Ahmann says.

☆ The flu can be a big deal for children. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The culprit behind her illness: influenza A, the most common strain of the influenza virus currently circulating across the country. “Young children are at higher risk of hospitalization and serious complications of flu,” she added. “I don’t wish this on anyone.”The best way to protect your familyMost children with influenza will recover well at home, Lockwood explains. “Getting a flu shot is the single best way to prevent the flu,” Stockwell said. Children 6 months through 8 years who are receiving the flu vaccine for the first time should receive two doses one month apart.

☆ Flu and RSV Are Sickening More Kids This Year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Brianna Abbott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After two years in the background, RSV and the flu have roared to the fore in pediatricians’ offices and children’s hospitals across the country. Pediatric hospitals have been strained for weeks by an early surge in common seasonal pathogens including respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Hospitalizations for RSV among kids under 5 are outpacing those for Covid-19, CDC data show. Public-health experts said the crush of patients is likely due in part to a larger pool of susceptible children compared with prior seasons, giving the virus more room to spread as people mingle indoors.

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