Chronic Illness and the State of Our Children’s Health
Approximately 27 percent of U.S. children live with chronic health conditions that can affect their daily lives and normal activities. These maladies often contribute greatly to school absenteeism and require continual medical attention. Many studies suggest chronic health problems…
U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate Unusually High and Rising
Part of a new study recently published as an article in the British medical journal, The Lancet, finds that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in the United States has gone up by 64 percent since 1990 and is now higher than most “high-income” countries. Part of a new study recently published as an article in the British medical journal, The Lancet, finds…
Babies May Benefit from Co-Sleeping
In most of the world, it is common practice for parents and babies to sleep together. In the United States and several other countries, including Britain, Germany, and parts of western Europe, parents tend to put babies in their own beds and usually in a separate room. This custom is largely due to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warnings about…
EpiPen’s Notorious Marketing Model
It’s a great business model: Start (or find) a life-threatening trend, develop (or acquire) a product absolutely necessary to counteract that trend, then gradually raise the cost until you find the highest price the market will bear. No wonder Mylan, the company that owns the EpiPen, is being compared—and unfavorably yet—to Turing Pharmaceuticals and its former chief executive Marti Shkreli, the man…
The Question of Vitamin K for Newborns
Essentially all human infants are born with very low blood levels of vitamin K and, since low amounts of vitamin K crosses into breast milk, levels remain low for several weeks after birth in breastfed babies. The purpose of this natural, universal experience of low vitamin K levels in newborns is not known. Has Mother Nature really made a mistake? Or is there a perfectly good reason…
Leptospirosis Vaccine May Be Killing Dogs
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease spread through the urine of infected rats, wildlife, and canines. Although it is treatable with antibiotics if it is caught early, the disease can be fatal to dogs—particularly puppies and young animals. Symptoms can range from mild lethargy and depression, to more serious symptoms like abdominal pain, jaundice, and liver damage. Leptospirosis illness leads…