NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

Kids ENT (ears, nose, throat) Month

Eat Tubes or Vents

February 9-15 is Child Passenger Safety Week

A note about Valley View Medical Center

KIDS E.N.T (ear, nose, throat) MONTH

The 2000 census showed that of the 19.6 million preschool age children, 18 percent were in daycare centers or nursery schools/preschools. When your child is in a daycare/preschool the risk of viral illnesses is increased significantly. Viral illnesses include the common cold, ear infections and diarrhea. The average child gets eight to ten colds per year, children in daycare environment are expected to get three to ten episodes of otitis media annually. This is four times the incidence of children staying at home.

Here are some guidelines to follow if you are unsure of whether to keep your child home from daycare or school:

• If your child has a temperature higher than 100 degrees, even if the child feels fine. The child should be kept home until fever-free for 24 hours.
• Children taking antibiotics should be kept home until they have completed a 24 hour coarse.
• Any vomiting or diarrhea.

You can do some things to prevent them from becoming sick also:

• Teaching children to wash hands before eating and after using the bathroom. Infection is spread when they put dirty toys and hands in their mouths.
• If you are able, make other arrangements for child care when you hear the daycare/school has illnesses going around such as pink eye, chicken pox, or strep throat.

Back to the top

EAR TUBES OR VENTS

By age five nearly every child has experienced at least one ear infections. Most infections resolve on their own or are easily treated with antibiotics. Ear infections and/or fluid in the middle ear may become a chronic problem leading to other issues such as hearing loss, or behavior or speech problems. Sometimes insertion of an ear tube may be considered.

Ear tubes, sometimes called typanostomy tubes, myringotomy tubes, ventilation tubes or PE tubes; are tiny cylinders placed through the ear drum to allow air into the middle ear.

Some patients only need them placed for six months to a year and they fall out on their own. Tubes are usually recommended when a patient has repeated ear infections or have hearing loss from the presence of middle ear fluid, most common in children.

Ear tube surgery is the most common childhood surgery performed with anesthesia. Ear tubes may:

• Reduce the risk of future ear infection,
• Restore hearing loss caused by middle ear fluid,
• Improve speech and balance problems
• Improve behavior and sleep problems caused by chronic ear infections.

Back to the top

February 9-15 is Child Passenger Safety Week

Here are some facts that will make you think twice about how your children are buckled in:

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children age 2 to 14. [Traffic Safety Facts 2002-Children, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]
• Children age 4 to 7 who use booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than children who were restrained only by a safety belt. [“Belt-Positioning Booster Seats and Reduction in Risk of Injury Among Children in Vehicle Crashes,” Journal of the American Medical Association, June 2003]
• More than 81 percent of child restraints are used incorrectly, including 88 percent of forward-facing toddler seats, 86 percent of rear-facing infant seats and 85 percent of safety belts, as determined at child passenger safety seat inspection stations across the country. [Child Passengers at Risk in America: A National Study of Restraint Use, National SAFE KIDS Campaign, 2002]

A booster seat raises a child up so that the safety belt fits properly. Studies have shown that when small children are simply strapped in using a safety belt they are at greater risk for internal injuries and spinal injuries. This is because the belt many times does not hold their shoulders in. Many children sit with the shoulder harness behind them, which is very dangerous.

4 Steps for Kids guidelines:

1. Rear-facing infant seats in the back seat from birth to at least one year old and/or at least 20 pounds.
2. Forward- facing toddler seats in the back seat from age one to about age four and 20 to 40 pounds.
3. Booster Seats in the back seat from about age four and 40 pounds to at least age eight, unless 4’9”.
4. Safety belts at age eight or older or taller than 4”9”. All children 12 and under should ride in the back seat.

Back to the top

A note about Valley View Medical Center

Just a reminder that inpatient services are closed at Valley View and the Emergency Room is now a 24-hour Urgent Care Center. This means that the ambulances will not be transporting patients to Valley View any longer but for non-life threatening emergencies they are open 24 hours as a walk in clinic. If you feel you or a family member are having a medical emergency such as heart attack or stroke, or are unresponsive, it is best to call 911 and have an ambulance come. DO NOT DRIVE YOURSELF ANYWHERE IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY SYPMTOMS THAT MIGHT BE SIGNS OF A HEARTATTACK OR STROKE! You are putting yourself and other motorists in danger should you pass out while your at the wheel.

Back to the top